Sword Art Online: Alternate Story
by Jin-Rimu
Summary: A young male named Chihiro Sato was bored of the real world. One thing that interests him though, he enjoys seeking out challenges. But what happens when he gets stuck in a virtual reality and meets some new people and a certain girl? Will this change his perspective of the world?
1. Prologue: In the beginning

**Uhm... Hey there everyone. So I decided to write a fanfic and this is my first one. I'd advice you guys to keep your expectations low because this is bound to be an amatuer kind of story. Ofcourse, I'd be glad and surprised at the same time if I ever got to finish this. I've got lots of ideas for this though. But I don't know if I got the skills to pull off a good story same as the rest of the stories you've read. But what the heck, I'll just go wild with my imagination. I'll do my best, that's for sure.**

**The purpose of this story... **

**A.) go through the whole SAO storyline again but with a Protagonist(an OC) who is kind of an Anti-hero but more of a stoic person(Kirito is still considered a protagonist, you might say my OC is a co-protagonist in this story).**

**B.) to mess around with the pairings.**

**C.) try to keep Sachi alive.(Depends how the story goes or where the wind takes me. I'll consider this an Optional choice)**

******This might get a little complex because I'll tackle some parts to make it a bit detailed, like how certain things came to be or something like that. Also, I might stray away from the original plot. Hope that's alright.**

**Also, English is not my first language so don't expect perfect grammar/spellings.**

**Lastly I DON'T OWN SWORD ART ONLINE except my OC/OC's.**

**Hope we're clear on that. So on with the story.**

**Enjoy and leave a review if you don't mind, it'd be awesome and I'd appreciate it.**

**(EDITED LAST AUGUST 27,2014)**

* * *

**PROLOGUE:**

_August 2022..._

It was a rainy afternoon... As a young boy and Akihiko Kayaba played a game of chess in the young boy's mansion...

The young boy's name is Chihiro Sato. 14 years of age. The only child in the Sato household. Kayaba has been a friend of Chihiro's family for a long time. His parents met Kayaba during a conference one summer. And since then, they became close friends.

''Hmm...'' Kayaba hummed. Chihiro just smirked.

''A good move. I did not foresee that. As expected from you, the heir to the Sato Corporation.''

''I'm glad you came to realize that Mr. Kayaba...''

''You should be more careful where you place your pieces.'' Chihiro added, a grin on his face

''Well, I'm not talented in this game as you are Chihiro.''

''You don't need to be talented to win, just have the right strategy... I think I've told you that a hundred times.''

''Yes, and many times I've fallen in defeat every time we played chess.'' Kayaba said, accepting defeat.

''You flatter me too much Mr. Kayaba.'' Chihiro said with a smirk, liking the praise from Kayaba.

''Well it's true, the same goes to everyone who challenged you... You seem to come out on top.''

''Haha.'' Chihiro laughed softly. "You know me, I never back down whenever there's a challenge.'' The young boy stated firmly. He loves it whenever he's challenged and he knows he would beat the opponent or whatever that stands in his way.

''Wrong move Kayaba...''

The game went on. Kayaba struggling in Chihiro's hands. They would usually play chess every time Kayaba visited. And every time Chihiro would win against him.

A few hours had passed and the it stopped raining. The game nearly ending as Chihiro make his last move.

''Checkmate.'' The boy declared.

''Good game as always, Chihiro.''

''Not bad, Kayaba. You've been improving since the last time we played, but it's still not enough to land you a victory.''

''It's okay, I'll try my luck next time.''

Chihiro invited Kayaba to the study room where they would have tea and discuss some things.

''More tea Mr. Kayaba?'' The boy asked.

''Yes please.''

''Alright.''

Chihiro called his butler who went in after he called him a few times.

''What were you doing, Macao?'' Chihiro asked his butler.

''I called you five times.'' The young boy added.

''Forgive me sir, I was busy with something your father ordered me to do.''

''Ugh. Fine, whatever. Could you get us more tea?''

''Yes sir, right away.''

It was late in the afternoon and Kayaba was ready to leave and head back to his office. Chihiro accompanied him to the door.

''By the way, remember the last time I proposed a certain project to your parents?'' Kayaba asked.

''That new online game you created?''

''Yes, but not just any online game...''

''...yeah yeah, the first ever Virtual Reality MMORPG game...'' Chihiro continued.

''Sword Art Online, was it?'' The boy asked, making sure he got the name of the game correctly.

''Yes. SAO for short'' Kayaba answered.

''So, what about it?''

''I just want to thank especially your parents for partnering with me and funding the project. This has always been my dream... To create a virtual world.''

''Without your parent's support, I would not have the budget for this project and especially for the NerveGear.'' Kayaba said with gratitude.

''So in behalf of the staff that is working on this, thank you for making this dream of mine a reality.''

''No problem. I'll extend your thanks to them.''

''Thank you Chihiro. And for that, I have an invitation for you, a little something to show my gratitude towards you as well.''

''Oh?'' Chihiro was surprised by what Kayaba said.

''There's going to be a beta test for SAO in three days. And I'm still looking for people to be beta testers...'' Kayaba offered the young boy.

''... So what you're saying is...''

''... I'm inviting you to be one for SAO.'' Kayaba finished.

''What do you mean?'' Chihiro asked, not sure of what Kayaba is saying.

''Exactly what it means... Become a beta tester for Sword Art Online.'' Kayaba said clearly.

Chihiro just stood there. He was taken aback by the invitation. A smile made its way to the boy's face.

''Interesting...'' Chihiro uttered.

''It's the least I can do for the family that has supported me in this project... So, do you accept?''

''Sure, why not? I'd be glad to be a beta tester for this game.''

''Good. Well I'll be going now. I'll send you the hardware along with the game in three days. I'm sure you'll enjoy your time being a beta tester in SAO.'' Kayaba said while leaving.

Chihiro watched as Kayaba enters his car and drives his way out of the gate. He was thinking if he made a good choice accepting to become a beta tester. He didn't want to regret his decision and waste time.

''Beta tester huh? Interesting...''

* * *

**Well that's the prologue. Nothing much happening here except getting to know the OC. I tried to be a bit more detailed on how the the whole thing started or how the NerveGear was produced. Hope that's not a bother. **

**Again, your opinion is very much appreciated. I have the next chapters written but I'd like to know your feedback for this one. Thanks!**


	2. Beta test day

**Hey there guys. Here's the second chapter of the story. This may seem very absurd but what the heck.**  
**Hope you still enjoy. Leave some reviews if you don't mind.**

******(EDITED LAST AUGUST 27,2014)**

* * *

**CHAPTER 1:**

It was the day of the beta test for Sword Art Online...

Many were invited to become beta testers. But not all who applied got the chance to participate because there were some ways to check your knowledge in gaming like interview and going through some assessments.

Of course only the best players and those people who were referred to as 'gamers' were accepted to test the first ever Virtual Reality MMORPG. Around 1,000 beta testers were given the opportunity to participate.

The young boy known as Chihiro received a package earlier that day. It was delivered to him straight from Argus, the corporation that produced SAO. _"This package includes the following: 1 NerveGear and 1 Sword Art Online game... Beta testing will start at 10 am. Please log in during that time to join the other participants... Hope you have a grand experience in the beta test... We hope to hear your review soon..."_

It was 9 am. Chihiro had to wait an hour before he could start playing. When it was nearly time, he opened the box. "Well, I guess this is it... Now, how to use this thing?" The boy looks at the bottom inside the box and finds a manual. He opens it to read the instructions.

_"To use or activate NerveGear, please follow the directions carefully... Step 1: Wear the game console over the head... Step 2: Find a comfortable position to station the body, commonly being a bed.(Recommended)... Step 3: Initiate the voice command «Link Start» for game to load... "_

The boy followed the instructions attentively, not wanting to mess up on his first try on the device. After putting on the console over his head, he lay down on his bed and placed himself in a comfortable position.

"Here goes... " He whispered under his breath.

"Link Start!"

As soon as Chihiro uttered those words, his vision was engulfed with a bright light for a few moments. Then a massive vortex of swirling colors flew around him. Far in the distance, something approached him as he cringed and decided to close his eyes for a moment. "_The brain will be disconnected from the real world, causing the body to not function but completely redirects the brainwaves to the device once the game loads..."_ He recalled on what Kayaba said about the NerveGear. When he opened his eyes, a holographic screen was in front of him.

«**Head Link, CHECK**»

«**Body Link, CHECK**»

«**Hands Link, CHECK**»

«**Legs Link, CHECK**»

«**CHECKING COMPLETE**»

«**LANGUAGE: JAPANESE**»

«**YOU DON'T HAVE AN EXISTING ACCOUNT, CREATE BETA TEST ACCOUNT? [Y]**»

«**CREATING... PLEASE WAIT**»

It took a while for Chihiro to create his account, he had to fill out some information and other stuffs. After his account was created, the system proceeded to the next.

«**WELCOME TO SWORD ART ONLINE**»

Darkness overwhelmed his vision. Then a flash of light made its way around him as he closed his eyes again. He felt his feet standing on solid ground. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times to decrease the blurriness. When he had regained his sight, able to see clearly, he found himself in a world that he could not believe.

"Is... Is this a dream?" The young male uttered, clearly amazed on what he is seeing.

"This is unbelievable."

The boy looked around to see the other beta testers. They were also astonished by the surroundings that was before their eyes. After a couple of minutes, another holographic screen with text appeared in the sky and a voice that greeted the players. "Welcome fellow Beta Testers to Sword Art Online, the first ever Virtual Reality MMORPG. This marks the Opening Ceremony for the Beta Test." All the players except Chihiro shouted and cheered.

"It's an honor to have all of you Beta Testing this game. We hope you have a wonderful time here. For your information, the stage that we have set for Sword Art Online is on a hundred-floor floating castle called Aincrad." The voice said, as the players were taken aback by the info of their location.

"It was not mentioned in the package, but you are given only a month to explore the game and after that, a review is expected from each of you..."

The opening ceremony went on, as the voice took the time to give a short orientation to the beta testers.

"Lastly, I would like to personally thank each and everyone of you for participating."

"And so with that, I end the briefing. " The voice finished.

The holographic screen disappeared and the players all ran out cheering and began their exciting journey exploring Sword Art Online.

Hours had turned to days. And days turned to weeks. All who participated were really drawn to the game. Most of them already compromised their studies and work just for them to play and examine SAO.

* * *

The beta test lasted for a few weeks. One month to be exact. They only reached until the 10th floor. It wasn't easy to reach that floor. One of the players that led to reach floor 10 was Chihiro. He had fun killing monsters, clearing floors, taking up quests and leveling up.

''Mission accomplished...'' Chihiro said referring to the quest he just completed, right now located at floor 3.

His avatar was just a standard looking one. He wasn't picky on his avatar's physical appearance. As for the name, he just registered 'Hiro' to be his avatar's name. He didn't care on what he looked like or what his name was in that world because he didn't want to take it seriously. Although, he found the game quite interesting, despite the actual difficulty of the game. It's been a long time since he had something to entertain him.

"_I gotta hand it to Kayaba, this game is promising._'' The young male thought.

''Today's the last day though, gotta make the most out of it."

Hiro dashed out into the open field hoping to find some more things to do until the system announces the official ending for the beta test.

When Hiro arrived in the field, he saw a black haired boy, around his age, fighting a pack of wolves. He struggled a bit. When Hiro realized that the boy was having trouble defeating the wolves, he rushed in and helped the male. The black haired boy was surprised to see Hiro but was glad that he had someone to help him clear to situation.

The two posed in a back to back position. "It seems like you're in a tight spot. I was just observing from afar and decided to lend a hand." Hiro said while holding his dagger.

"Yeah, it seems like it but I got this situation under control." The boy with raven hair said.

"Whatever, let's just finish these guys." Hiro suggested, clearly not convinced what the other male said.

The two boys fought until there were no more wolves left. "Well, I guess that's all of 'em" The boy with black hair stated, sheathed his sword.

"I guess." Hiro said plainly as he walked pass him.

"Hold on, where you going?" The raven haired bot asked.

"What does it look like? I'm going on ahead." Hiro said, not wanting to stick around.

"Don't you wanna rest for a bit? We took a lot of damage... Here, drink this." He tossed Hiro a healing potion.

The two decided to sit on the field, wanting to rest from that fight. Battling a pack of wolves was not a walk in a park. It drained them, not to mention their HP had reached the red zone.

Facing a beautiful sunset while resting on the field, the black haired boy introduced himself after he realized they had been silent for a while now. "By the way, I'm Kirito...It's nice to meet you... Uhm..."

"Hiro..." Hiro said with a stoic look, facing the sunset.

"Nice to meet you Hiro." Kirito said, happy to hear a response from the person who came to help him.

A few moments passed, and silence surrounded the two once again.

"So, what to do you think about this game? I mean, today's the last day of the beta test. And we're required to give our review after this." Kirito asked, hoping to start a conversation with Hiro.

"It's pretty good. I like the game so far... "

"Me too, I'm loving it! I like the idea being in a virtual world... Too bad though, we had to end the beta test only reaching the 10th floor."

"..."

"I felt we could have done a much better job." Kirito says before laying down on the grass.

"The game is difficult, I'll tell you that. I've played other games that was labeled to be hard by many people, but not like SAO. I've never came across a game as hard as this."

"Yeah, we didn't even reach halfway."

"But if the developers would extend it, let's say around three months, then I could have cleared the game by myself." Hiro stated arrogantly.

"Woah. Pretty big words there. Are you sure about that?" Kirito sitting up, surprised by Hiro's words.

"Of course. I can pull through."

"Same here. It's been a month and I couldn't get further than floor 8. But now I think I can get to floor 10 in less than a month, easy."

"Sounds to me like you're really into this." Hiro said, slightly amazed by Kirito's words of determination.

"Yeah, you could say that. This whole time, SAO was the only thing on my mind..." Kirito looks at his sword. "In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you wanna go... And even though it's a virtual world, I feel more alive in here than I ever did in the real one..." The raven haired boy smiled as he sheathed his sword. "Anyway, you wanna go do some more hunting?"

"Uh, sure. I can still go another round."

The two went into a forest and began fighting some wild boars. "Are swords the only weapons in SAO?" Kirito asked while slashing a boar. "There are also axes, maces and daggers." Hiro answered while striking his dagger in the boar's belly. "I mean, does the game have short-ranged weapons only?" Kirito restated his previous question. "No, you can acquire long-range armaments like a bow and arrow, a crossbow or even the ones that can be thrown like spears and alike." Hiro answered as he demonstrated by throwing his dagger to a boar that was 12 feet away. "Really, that's awesome." Kirito says, happy with the information he just learned and activating his sword skill to destroy five boars. "But you can only obtain long-ranged weapons by completing certain quests." Hiro explained, also activating his sword skill which delivered the finishing blow to the remaining boars.

After a while of hunting and killing monsters, both decided to call it a day and just wait for the system to announce the closing of the beta. When the announcement finally came indicating that they would be transported back immediately to their respective locations in 60 seconds, Kirito gave his farewell to Hiro.

"Guess I'll see you on the official release?" Kirito asked.

"I don't know. The game didn't get to me that much. And besides, I'm a busy person. Gotta prepare to handle the family business."

"Oh, that sucks. Too bad."

"Yeah. But it's fine." Hiro says, arms crossed.

"How old are you anyway?" Kirito asked, curious of how old Hiro is, knowing that he'll be managing the family business.

"I'm 14." Hiro says bluntly.

"14?! The same as me!" Kirito was taken by surprise, now knowing the age of the other male.

"..."

"Pretty young to handle something that big, don't you think?"

"I can manage."

Only 20 seconds remaining until all beta testers would be transported and the beta test to finally come to a close. The two just stood there, waiting for the countdown to expire.

"Maybe we can hang out in the real world? You know, play online games together." Kirito asked, trying to make the most out of the remaining time.

"Yeah, maybe we can."

"Cool. I'll add you on my social media. What's your real name?"

Before Hiro could share his real name, a blue light suddenly appeared on where they're standing. It covered their bodies and they were transported back to the real world.

* * *

Chihiro opened his eyes to see that he was back in his room. He took off the NerveGear and checked the time. _"6:33 pm... Time for dinner..." _He then went downstairs and proceeded to the dining hall.

"So, how was the Beta Test, kiddo?" Chihiro's father asked him while having dinner.

"It's fine."

"Was the game interesting?" His mother now asked.

"Yeah, kinda. Still haven't fully explored SAO due to limited time... But as far as I can tell, it was fascinating."

"Glad to hear that, Chihiro."

"You know, we donated a fortune for that project. It would be such a waste if it was a failure."

"I know right? I'm glad Mr. Kayaba's dream is finally coming into a reality." His dad stated.

_"Dream... Reality... Both sounds so intriguing..."_

* * *

The following day, Chihiro visited Kayaba's office to submit his report regarding the Beta Test.

"Good day Chihiro, how was it?" Kayaba greeted the boy.

"It was pretty good. I was overwhelmed by the game's design and all... Great job to say the least." Chihiro handed his report paper to him.

"Really? I'm glad to hear that."

"..."

"Would you still want to continue playing Sword Art Online after it has been released officially? I'm offering all the beta testers an opportunity to pre order the game but I was thinking of giving you a free copy."

''I don't know... I mean, it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it but I got some stuff I have to take care of.''

Kayaba wore a sad face at that statement. But thought of ways to provoke the young male.

''You like challenges that much, don't you? I'm sure there a lot in this game...''

"Yeah, you know I do. But I didn't feel like SAO was that challenging to me."

"I see. But that was only the beta. The game play will be much better on the official release."

''Hmm...'' Chihiro hummed, still not sure if he's gonna take the offer.

''I can even say that there might still be challenges you're yet to face in this game, Chihiro.'' Kayaba stated, enticing the boy.

''I see...''

Chihiro took a few moments thinking through and trying to make a decision.

''Well if that's the case, then I think I'll continue playing Sword Art Online.'' Chihiro said, finally accepting Kayaba's offer.

* * *

After Chihiro left the office, he went home. Kayaba had given him some gaming magazines and the one with the NerveGear as it's front cover.

When he reached his house, he was surprised to see that he was by himself. _"That's odd, I wonder were mom and dad are... It's unusual for them to be out this late at night."_

After a few moments, the phone rang and Chihiro picked it up to hear that it was his butler, Macao, that called. "Macao? Where are you? Where's my parents?" The boy asked, wanting to know why they were not at home.

"Sir, I'm very sorry to say this, but I have terrible news."

"What is it?"

"Your parents met an accident."

At that instant, Chihiro froze. He could not believe what he just heard.

"WHAT?! Where are you now?!"

"We're in the ambulance, heading for the hospital."

Chihiro immediately dropped the phone and rushed towards to the hospital where his parents were. Unfortunately, he was too late when he arrived as the doctors informed him that his parents were dead. The young boy just stood there wide eyed as tears started to form. His butler by his side, comforting him. "I'm really sorry for what happened sir." Chihiro wasn't able to hold his tears anymore as he cried very hard at the tragedy of losing his parents.

At the funeral, only a few of the Sato family went. The uncle, which is the younger brother of Chihiro's dad, two aunts and two cousins as well as Akihiko Kayaba were the only ones there.

"I apologize for this tragedy, Chihiro." Kayaba said.

"..."

"I was also heartbroken when I heard that Mr. and Mrs. Sato died. The two people who helped me in fulfilling my dream."

"..."

"Are you going to be alright, Chihiro?" Kayaba showing his concern for the boy.

"Yeah... Yeah, I think I can manage." Chihiro said with a low tone.

"If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. And I'll try to visit once in a while to check up on you."

"No, you don't have to do that. You still have your hands full on stuffs like developing the final output of Sword Art Online."

"..."

"Listen... Uhm..."

Before he could say something, he was cut off by Kayaba. "Look, you don't have to play SAO if you're not up for it. I'm not going to force you. Next month is the official release. I doubt you're going to be 100% during that time."

"No, I'm still gonna participate on the day of the release... Don't wanna miss that first day bonus item now, do I?" Chihiro said, trying to cheer himself up.

Kayaba is happy to see the young boy fighting and moving forward, not dwelling on the sadness in his heart...

As they were about to go home, Chihiro stood, facing the tombstone of his parents.

_"SAO... That's the only thing I'm looking forward to, right now..."_

* * *

**And that's that. I know I know, it's pretty absurd. Some people might come after me with torches and pitch forks. But that's just how I imagined this story to be. On the next chapter, the official release of the game and the part where the madman, Kayaba, traps the players.  
Well, gotta go work on the next one. **

**Review if you must. Even with just one word.  
Thanks**


	3. Welcome to SAO, your worst nightmare

**Sup guys, here's a new chapter.**

**I know you might think that this story is really absurd, I don't mind, and some of you might also think that this is gary stu-ish, but it's not. That's not the goal. Pairings are also not the goal... The goal is to have an anti-hero guy of some sort, to develop that anti-hero to have a dramatic background/experience before and while inside the game, and lastly, a potential rival for Kirito... I'll do my best to write this well, so it won't look like it's gary stu-ing its way, or anything bad... Wish me luck.**

**Anyways, on with the story...**

* * *

**CHAPTER 2:**

_November 5, 2022..._

It's been a few weeks since Chihiro's parents died. He called the Sato Corp. to inquire if the position as Head of the company can be turned over to him. Unfortunately, he wasn't ready yet that time due to his young age, although his uncle, known as Rentaro Sato, the younger brother of his deceased father, insisted that he take over for a while, but Chihiro didn't approve, instead, he entrusted it to the company's board of directors until he was at least 16. So Chihiro, and his butler, Macao, decided to move to Australia for a few years where he learned to take responsibility into his own hands, still set on handling the Sato Corporation when he returns to Japan.

_"Tomorrow's the day..." _Chihiro thought, wide awake in his bed. It's already 11:47 p.m. and the young male still couldn't sleep. Honestly, he hasn't had any descent sleep since his parents died. And there was also Sword Art Online, he kept thinking about it for the past few weeks, using it as a way to distract him from the recent tragedy.

_"I'm tired of living...__This life..._" Ever since that lost, his personality grew more cold, cynical, and blunt, not to mention harsh and easily irritated. He would always tend to be strict on the people around him. Aside from that, he would usually isolate himself and push everyone away. Although he would act like he's already recovered, but inside, he still embraced the darkness and kept the pain in his heart a secret.

Chihiro yawned. _"I wish... I wish for a new reality... a new life... a world of my own... where I can escape..."_ He uttered in his mind those last words before closing his eyes and fell asleep.

_"I want to get away from it all... Grant me that escape... Sword Art Online..."_

* * *

_The following day... November 6, 2022..._

**"Hi there! Time for this week's MMO stream! You just saw a promo of today's featured game! And this is what last week's launch day looks like... Can you guess what everyone's in line for?! Sword Art Online!"**

"Sir?" Macao knocks on the door. "Huh..." Chihiro groans waking up from the noise his butler was making. "Yeah, yeah... Enough already, I'm up..." He yawns and stretched as he walked towards the door with a glare. The boy looked at the clock to see that it was already 11:38 in the morning. His butler informed him after watching the news on TV that the server service in Japan would start at 1 pm. They were in Australia so he can start logging in around 2 pm because of the time difference, they were an hour advance.

Chihiro took a sip of his coffee while sitting down watching the big news regarding the official launch of Sword Art Online. "This game has really made a huge commotion among the people." Macao stated while pouring more coffee in Chihiro's mug. "It sure did, especially to the ones who are hardcore gamers." Chihiro took another sip of his coffee.

**"... The one at the front of the line waited for three days prior to the official launch... Amazing! Is this what any real gamer ****would do? In today's MMO Stream, we'll be covering the internationally famous Sword Art Online, a.k.a. SAO! To be honest****, none of the NerveGear software released so far has really taken advantage of the hardware, but SAO was created**** by the NerveGear inventor, ****Akihiko** Kayaba, and its long-awaited VR MMORPG! I can't wait! The beta testers **all said it was incredible. I wanted a copy of the game! Only ten thousand copies were sold in its first printing... It sold out online ****in seconds... And as you saw, hardcore fans bought all the store copies..."**

"Aren't you glad you were born in this age?" Macao asked, preparing lunch.

"Why would I be? It's not like I'm into gaming."

"True. But these past few weeks, you seemed excited over this Sword Art Online gibberish."

"Hey, I admit that I was looking forward to this, but not excited." Chihiro stated with a firm tone, slightly irritated from Macao's assumption. He didn't want to show his excitement but instead maintained a cool demeanor. "I'm only glad that Kayaba took the time to adjust the server range and provide one here in Australia so I could still play even though I'm not in Japan." The young male explained. "Also, I just wanted something to kill time." He added, finishing his coffee and putting down the mug.

After he had lunch, he went upstairs to his room and prepared. He decided to take a shower before playing SAO again for the first time in two months. After he finished taking a bath and went out, he got ready and took out the NerveGear that he had kept in his closet, and the official copy of Sword Art Online from the box.

_"I hope you have a wonderful time playing inside Sword Art Online again... There are many challenges and surprises that will be waiting for you... From: Kayaba."_

Chihiro plugged in the NerveGear and wore the console over his head. The system asked him to run a calibration check sequence by touching various parts of his body, which he did. "Hmm, I wonder what this is for..." He asked himself and then lay down on his bed in a comfortable position.

_"13:59..."_ The time was indicated in the upper left of his screen. He took a moment to breath and relax, trying to not get ahead of himself from all the excitement. He was ready to leave the world he knew, escaping reality and enter a world with swords, monsters, and a whole lot more. Kayaba assured him that there are still more challenges he has yet to face. He can't wait on what new journey or exploit he would experience as he filled his thoughts about the things he planned to do while inside the virtual world.

When the time that was indicated turned _14:00, _Chihiro smiled and closed his eyes then exclaimed the words to activate and load the game.

"Link Start!"

After initiating those words in a long time, he immediately found himself in a familiar transition. A massive vortex and a bunch of different rainbow-like colors blasted past his vision as the system carried out checks for his senses. After the checking was complete, he was brought to the character registration.

«**BETA TESTER ACCOUNT STILL ACTIVE, ****W****OULD YOU LIKE TO ACTIVATE EXISTING DATA? ****H****iro (M)**»

«[**Y]**»

«**ACCESSING...** **PLEASE WAIT**»

«**WELCOME TO SWORD ART ONLINE!**»

After the whole process and seeing the sign, Chihiro felt his feet land on solid surface. He blinked a few times as his surroundings became clear while listening to the sound of his heart beat. He then raised his right hand and squeezed it.

_"The starting location... The Town of Beginnings..."_

Glancing to the upper left of his vision, he saw his HP gauge, level and username. The HP being shown in a green bar occupying almost a quarter away on the upper left of his vision, the username 'Hiro' on the left side of his HP, and the level stat below the HP indicating 'lvl 1'.

Hiro's avatar is still the same as in the beta, a standard type swordsman with a brown vest over a green v-neck shirt, black pants and black boots with silver plates. He still carries at the back of his left shoulder a medium size dagger, more like a short sword. He had neat light brown hair and cerulean blue eyes.

"I'm back..." He said to himself then looked around and watched most of the players were talking to each other and running around looking for something to do. As he was walking down the streets, he noticed that there were people who played SAO just to get hooked with the opposite sex. It made him sick to his stomach knowing the fact that some players made this game a dating place.

"Idiots..." Hiro thought while glaring at some males in the corner trying to impress a girl. "So, you wanna party up with us?" Hiro overheard some of the guys saying as he passed them by. He wanted to butt in and give them a piece of his mind but thought belittling people like that was a waste of time as he decided to start leveling up and see what challenges awaits him over the horizon.

''Nothing much has changed...'' Hiro scrutinized the environment while heading to the outskirts, he decided to check out the 'The Forest of Beginnings' and see what kind of monsters lies ahead. ''I think I'm gonna cover that area first...'' He knew from the beta test that the 'Forests of Beginnings' was a good place to start while you were in floor 1. There's not much good farming grounds in floor 1 but you could find some good quests and pick up bonus items there.

Along the way, he encountered some frenzy boars and decided to fight those in the mean time. He slashed at the back of the boar's head knowing that it was its weak point. Killing frenzy boars was really easy as those were considered the weakest monsters in SAO. "Didn't upgrade the boars? How boring." Hiro says referring to the game developers not making some improvements on the monsters in front of him.

After he was done with the boars, he continued his way and proceeded to the place where he wanted to farm. When he had reached his destination, an array of flying-type monsters, the Wind Wasp came out and charged its stings on Hiro."Ugh...These guys... How troublesome..." He says, dodging the attack and activating a sword skill to destroy three of those Wind Wasp. Hiro considered these Wind Wasp irritating because of the fact that these monsters has the ability to fly, he had to put extra effort in exterminating them.

However, he recalled that they give off a reasonably high amount of experience points, making it a good monster for hunting. "You were an annoying bunch in the beta, and to think I still find you the same here." He smirked and delivered another sword skill to finish up. "Now that that's out of the way, I can finally go to... " He then suddenly remembers that the monsters or hunting grounds he was looking for was not yet available until floor 2. He totally forgot about it due to the fact that it has been months since he played this game.

He decided to leave the forest and head somewhere else, trying to think back the good farming grounds he went to level up but to no avail because all the good one's he knew where found at the higher floors. As he continued walking, he recollected a certain information. "Well, there's that hidden dungeon below a palace located somewhere around here..." Hiro scratched his head, trying to remember the name and location of the palace. He was the only one in the beta test who discovered that place, though he really never went inside the dungeon, but instead decided to keep it to himself.

"Nevermind, I'll find that place some other time." Hiro says to himself, giving up on finding that so called 'hidden dungeon.'

He sprinted his way to a field and saw a black haired guy, who seemed to be, somewhat a beta tester too that was giving some tips to a red head guy. _"Training a newbie, huh? I'm glad I'm not in his shoes..."_ Hiro thought as he scurry passed them and then chose to walk over to a slope nearby, wanting to rest and enjoy the view of the sunset. "This world surely looks like from your average fantasy movie." Hiro says while laying down on the grass, his hands under his head. Now he was thinking about earlier when he fought those pesky Wind Wasp. "It's a good thing that the beta accounts were still active, I still have my old sword skills that I got in some quests, it'll be real pain if I lost those and if the developers reset our data." He says with a pleasant look on his face, realizing how fortunate he was that his sword skills were still there.

After a long period of lying down and just slacking off, Hiro notices the great view of the sunset and the light casting on the clouds to add a breath-taking effect in Aincrad. _"What a beautiful view... I could just look at it forever..." _He thought while trying to recalling how he came to like sunsets so much. He remembered meeting a little girl seven years ago while playing alone in the park one afternoon. The description of the girl was a blur to him as he wasn't able to fully think back on what the girl looked like during that only time he was with her, heck, he didn't even got her name. All he could remember was the long light brown hair, and when the girl brought him up in the tree to see the sunset. "I wonder how she is doing now."

Soon after, he checked the time on the bottom left corner of his vision, it indicated that it was already '17:25' Aincrad Standard Time, and became aware that he was inside SAO for almost 3 hours. "It must be pretty late... If it's 17:25 here, then it's 18:25 in the outside world..." Hiro said, knowing that from their current location, they were an hour advance from the Standard Time of the game, as Aincrad followed Japan's time. _"If only I could stay here... I think that would be awesome, enjoying this freedom... But I have a life in the real world, can't forget about that..." _He quickly thought before he stood up and walked near the cliff.

"Guess that's it for the first day, I'll continue my exploit tomorrow. Gotta log out now so I won't miss dinner." He then swiped the air to open his main menu and scrolled down to find a feature that's missing. _"Strange... Where's the log out button?" _Hiro wondered still skimming through the main menu in search for the log out button. "You've gotta be kidding..." He says, growing tired of searching. "Are there still bugs in this game?" He added, slowly losing his patience.

After carefully going through the main menu over and over, in hopes of finding the log out button, Hiro hears the sound of what seemed to be like an old rumbling bell coming from the Town of Beginnings. He was curious of what that meant as a blue light flashed from the ground on where he was standing and immediately teleported him back to the Starting City.

"The Town of Beginnings?" Hiro asked himself while standing in the town square as he then looked at the other players being teleported in. "Someone forced a teleport?" He asked while looking around and hearing the others asking on what's going on and why were they brought there.

"What the heck is this?! I was in the middle of a cool quest!"

"Well, we were busy training!"

Hiro heard some of the players were starting to lose their cool and complain while he remained calm and composed, just observing the situation at hand before he jumped into any conclusions.

After a few moments, the bell stopped as the noise of the players began to increase. "Look! Up there!" Hiro heard a player shout while pointing above, he then looked and saw a red 'Warning' sign blinking up high. After a couple of seconds, the warning sign, followed by the word 'System Announcement', spread out as it covered the sky, emitting a red atmosphere in the town square. "So it was a bug after all, good thing they managed to fix it." Hiro said to himself, assuming that there was nothing to worry about.

In between those signs, a blood-like ooze sipped its way down and formed into an enormous hooded figure. _"The GM, I presume?"_ Hiro thought while focusing his attention closely on the robed figure as he heard people around him whispering. _"This must be the opening ceremony, like in the beta."_

"What is that?"

"Who's that?"

"That must be the game master."

"Why doesn't he have a face? Is this an event?"

Whispers could be heard all around Hiro as the hooded figure began to talk. "Attention players, I welcome you to my world." The figure had a loud, deep, majestic voice as it floated above the players. "What's he mean by that?" Hiro asked in confusion as the next words that was uttered by the mysterious figure surprised him. "My name is Akihiko Kyaba, and as of this moment, I am in control of this world."

"Ugh?! Kayaba?!" Hiro said, wide eyed, all the players around him were also in a state of shock as they all knew him. "S-Seriously? Is that really him?." Some of the players said while gazing at the game master. _"Why did he assemble us here?"_

"I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus - the log out button." Kayaba said as he gestured his hand and opened the main menu, pointing his finger at the blank area where the log out button was supposed to be. Hiro relaxed a bit and was expecting to hear him say 'We're already in the process of fixing it' or 'I will log you out and restart the server to fix the issue at hand' or something along the lines but instead heard the opposite of what he had hoped.

"Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be."

_"Is he kidding?" _Hiro thought, now knowing that his assumption about this game still having bugs were completely wrong.

"You cannot log yourselves out of SAO... And no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head." Hiro couldn't believe what he was hearing, as those two methods were the only options he could think of. "If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain... and ending your life." Hiro glared at how calm he spoke at that statement. It was true that the transmitter signals in the head gear worked just like a microwave, it could fry the brain if the safety's disabled.

"Cutting the power won't work either..." Hiro muttered under his breath, remembering the NerveGear having an internal battery. "This is totally crazy!" He heard a player yelled from afar.

_"Kayaba..." _Hiro continued to glare at the madman.

"Despite my warning, the families and friends of some players have attempted removing the NerveGear... An unfortunate decision, to say the least... As a result, the game now has 213 less players than when it began... They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world." Kayaba said, still speaking with a calm manner.

_"213?! Macao, please, don't even think about removing the NervGear..."_ He thought, worried that his butler might attempt to remove the device from his head at anytime.

"As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including deaths." Kayaba said as he brought up the screen ,which Hiro turned his attention to, showing various pictures and videos of players, former players, and their families breaking down, crying.

"At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal." Everyone continued to look at the screen floating around Kayaba. _"Kayaba..." _Hiro thought with disgust, he didn't want to listen anymore.

"I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game." Kayaba says as the players still stood in fear, not feeling pleasant even the slightest bit. "It's important to remember the following... There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game... If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system... Forever. " Hiro's eyes widen as he already knew what that meant for them.

"And the NeveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain." Hiro gasped, he didn't want to listen any further. Breathing became a little bit difficult for him. He could just imagine himself left open and unguarded as a boar tackles him, bringing his HP to zero and shattering him into a million pieces.

_"Kayaba..." _Hiro gritted his teeth and clenched his fist at the thought as Kayaba continued. "There is only one way for a player to escape now... You must clear the game." Kayaba opened another holographic screen, this one looked like a map, it showed the entire Aincrad from floor 1 to floor 100. "Right now, you're gathered at floor 1, the lowest level of Aincrad... If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor... Defeat the boss on floor 100, and you will clear the game."

At that instant, Hiro was taken aback by what Kayaba said. "We... We didn't even made it that far in the beta..." Hiro muttered, everyone was stunned as noise began to increase.

"How can we believe you?!"

"We can't clear all 100 floors!"

"That's freaking impossible!"

Kayaba then raised a hand to silence the crowd. "Last, but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look." Hiro raised an eyebrow, confused by what Kayaba meant. "Present? At a time like this?" He opened his inventory to find a single item. "A mirror?" He was surprised with the item as he stared at his avatar's reflection.

Suddenly, at the corner of Hiro's vision, he saw a player glowed in a white light, followed by the others and himself. After the light disappeared, all of the players didn't seem to feel any different, until they started analyzing each other's faces. Hiro turned to his sides, the person on his right and left looked different from what they looked earlier.

''Who're you?''

''Who am I? Who're you?''

''Is that you, Klein?

''Is that you, Kirito?''

Questions were thrown back and forth as the players were stunned to perceived the new appearance. Hiro then layed eyes on the mirror, also stunned to see his true face. His neat light brown hair was replaced by a slightly messy dark brown hair that reached his eyes, a pair of heterochromic eyes instead of cerulean blue eyes, Hiro hated his facial features especially his eyes, due to the fact that it was unusual, but this is what Hiro truly looked like in the real world.

''But how did...'' Hiro quickly remembered the high density signal device inside the NerveGear, it can see what the face looked like. ''So that calibration crap was just a way to get our physical data.'' Hiro realizes as he thought on how the system knew their height and body type. ''We've been had...'' He said, becoming frustrated.

A person in front of Hiro slightly took a few steps back, due to the intense fear, and bumped into him. ''I'm sorry!'' The person apologized as Hiro glared, but changed his facial expression when he discovered that that person was a girl. She had long light-brown hair, a feature Hiro found very familiar. The girl also showed a questioning look on her face as the two just stared for a while, trying to recall if they knew each other.

Their stare was cut off as their attention turned back to Kayaba who continued speaking. ''Right now, you're probably wondering, 'Why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and NerveGear, do this?' Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of the world of my design."

"Kayaba..." Hiro finally muttered his name with an infuriating look.

"As you can see, I have achieved my goal... This marks the end of the tutorial, and the official launch of Sword Art Online... Players, I wish you the best of luck." Kayaba finished as he faded and went up in smoke, together with the red hexagons that disappeared afterwards, thus leaving a clear sky again, the players were left stunned and in despair, they couldn't accept their fate. Hiro knew that Kayaba was not bluffing, this was not a mere game anymore, it was something else, it was a life and death situation. They all played right into Kayaba's little scheme which labeled them 'very unfortunate'. The thought of that madman being successful in achieving all of this made Hiro utter some words. "Interesting... Kayaba, you finally scored one against me... But... It's still not checkmate..." Hiro says, his hair covering his eyes.

Anger, despair, and bitterness filled his thoughts as he didn't know what to do. This was the first time he was cornered as the players began to panic, mirrors shattering, and screams were heard all around.

"I accept your challenge." Hiro says, his bangs still covering his eyes.

Suddenly, he remembered the girl who bumped into him and decided to look for her, but she was nowhere to be found as people started to run, scattering in different directions. Hiro brushed off the thought, deciding to forget and not look for the familiar girl. He then noticed the barriers, that were keeping them inside the town square, had lifted. He raced towards the nearest exit and decided to set out on the next village.

_"I'm going to find you, Kayaba..."_ Hiro thought while running through the streets heading for the main gate that led to the outskirts.

_"And when I do... I'm going to kill you..."_ He says in his mind as he ran passed a black haired boy and a red head guy in the corner.

_"And become... The new god of this world..."_ He declared in his thoughts, now making it his personal goal to take vengeance on Kayaba and take control of the virtual world.

* * *

**That's that... Hope you like it. Next chapter will be the fight with the first floor boss.  
****Thanks for reading. Leave a review, even if it's just a single word. **


	4. First floor breakthrough

**Hey guys. Here's the new chapter. Longest one yet.**

**Hope you like it.**

**R&R**

**(MADE SOME MAJOR EDITS... FOR THOSE WHO READ IT, YOU CAN RE-READ AND SPOT THE PART WHERE EDITS HAVE BEEN MADE.)**

**(EDITED LAST SEPTEMBER 9, 2014)**

* * *

**CHAPTER 3:**

Later that day, when Hiro reached the next location, known as Horunka Village, he chose to take a break for a while after fighting some Dire Wolves along the way. After a few minutes of resting, he immediately decided to take some quests. The known quests available for that time was «Secret Medicine of the Forest» and «Cows' Counter Attack». He was familiar with both quests due to the fact that he took on those while he was in the beta test. "I think I'll go for Secret Medicine of the Forest, first." Hiro said, making a decision after trying to decide which of the two quests he will choose. He then rushed towards a path that led to that quest. When he nearly reached the place, which was an NPC's house, he stopped in his tracks only to find out that a black haired boy and a slightly long brown haired boy entered the house.

"Damn, someone beat me to it." Hiro muttered, wanting to take on that quest. He could have just joined them and complete that quest together but he was not the type who would work well with others because he got used to working and accomplishing things on his own. "Guess, I got no other choice but to take Cows' Counter Attack quest... How boring." Hiro says to himself, underestimating the quest.

_20:16 Aincrad Standard Time..._

After completing the quest for almost an hour, Hiro had reached 'lvl 3', which he was not very pleased with, thinking that he could have reached level 4 or 5 in the other quest. He then decided to just walk around the streets of Horunka and see what the village had to offer. He then spotted a weapon shop and decided to check out some weapons. After that, he went to some tool shop where he bought some potions and healing potions.

"Now to get a room and call it a day." Hiro says after he realized that he was running out of cols and saw the time indicated was already '20:30'. He then decided to check in on the cheapest inn there was, he didn't mind if it was just a small room and had no bed, he would just have to settle sleeping on the floor with a blanket as long as it met his remaining budget.

While he was heading out of the shop, he heard some people were screaming, "Help! Somebody, please help!" A person with massive and bulky bald man with a brown goatee, who looked like someone who's of African heritage, approached them and asked what kind of help they needed.

"Please good sir, our friend is going to jump off of Aincrad! Please save him!" A girl from the group said, pleading the people to rescue their friend.

"Where is he?" The bald man asked as he looked like he was the type of person who was willing to lend a hand.

"He's at the edge of floor 1, let's hurry before he decides to jump!"

Hiro found this little charade quite amusing ,as he then too, followed to where the incident is taking place. When they reached the edge of Aincrad, they saw a person, a man to be specific, standing on top of the boundary of floor 1. It looked like the person was waiting for an audience as he began to speak. "So, you're all here! That's great!" The man said as he stretched his arms wide, happy to see the crowd.

"Arvin! Enough of this! Please come down now!" One of his friends shouted.

"No! I don't believe what that lunatic said! We're not going to die in real life if our HP drops to zero, and I'm going to prove this theory!" The man who we came to save, known as Arvin, said. "By jumping off from Aincrad, I will be disconnected from the server and regain consciousness!"

_"Hmm... This is intriguing... I'd like to see that for myself..." _Hiro thought with a small grin, also wanting to test that theory.

"Don't! We don't even have proof!"

"Neither does Kayaba! For all we know, those pictures and videos we saw were just lies to scare us!" Arvin said, clearly not convinced of what Kayaba showed them earlier.

"Just don't! Please! Let's just try to clear the game! It's safer that way!" One of Arvin's friends pleaded. The bald man stepped forward and tried to grab Arvin's leg, but Arvin quickly avoided that and kicked the bald man in the face.

"Don't you dare touch me!" Arvin warned with desperate look on his face.

"Please, Arvin! Just come down! We'll treat you to what ever you want!" One of his friends tried to bribe him but to no avail as Arvin waved his hand and turned around.

"See you on the other side, my friends..." He said as he jumped, never to be seen again.

The people that were there was shocked to see the stunt that Arvin pulled as his friends screamed and cried unending tears, knowing that he would never return. Hiro just stood there, dumbfounded as he recalled the look of desperation on Arvin's face. _"Was he... Really that desperate to get out of this game?" _Hiro thought in confusion as he left the others and went back to Horunka Village.

When Hiro checked in a cheap inn, he went to his room and settled in for the night. "Tonight's the first night being trapped in this world." Hiro muttered as he sat on his mattress on the corner of the room. "I wonder what that Arvin guy was thinking." He said placing his hands on the back of his head and lay down.

"Usually, in a story or novel, the people would want to desperately break out if they were trapped, and someone would stand out as the hero and save all the people, granting them the escape they wanted." He says, remembering how novels worked. "Same goes in this case, the players who hold their life dearly in the real world would want to get out, and like in the novels, the main character would lead them to their freedom." He added while facing the ceiling of his room.

"I wonder who'll be the main character that decides to clear the game and save the players." Hiro says, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

_"Because..."_

_"I'll definitely not be that guy..."_

_"That's so pathetic..."_

* * *

_December 2, 2022..._

A whole month has gone by since the game began and the imprisonment of the players inside Sword Art Online. Word around was that the game has now about 2,000 less players than when the game had started. Many of these cause of death was due to inexperience and suicide.

Since the start of the game, Hiro made use of the good quests he knew from the beta test. Although he underestimated all the quests on the 1st floor, it still helped him gain cols, and experience to boost his level higher. He even got some better gear, he now carries a Ninjato, a kind of short sword, instead of a standard dagger, which he got from completing a mission; also, he slightly changed his outfit to achieve a comfortable movement in his lower body. He changed his black pants into a dark brown pants that is just below his knees, and he now wears black sandals instead of black boots.

"Things are not going our way at all, we've already lost 20% and we're still stuck in floor 1." Hiro says leaning on a wall, he was now in a town called Tolbana because he was invited by Argo, a fellow beta tester and an info broker in this game, to join a meeting to discuss about the first floor boss. Even he was struggling on finding the whereabouts of the first floor boss.

"But, today though, things are about to change." He says, heading over to what seems to be an amphitheater.

"Okay, people. Settle down, now that everyone's here, let's get this meeting started." Hiro heard a blue haired man started speaking as he leaned on a wall instead of sitting down like the rest. Only a few were gathered, to which he found pleasant. "So anyway, I want to thank everyone for coming. Good to see you. My name is Diabel, and in this game," he slightly pound his chest, "the job I rolled is Knight." He said with a cheerful face.

Most of the players laughed and shouted at the statement as Hiro let out a chuckle. _"There's no job system in this game... __What a goofball... _" Hiro said in his mind, thinking how ridiculous Diabel was when he said that. Eventually, the laugh died down as the so called knight began to speak again. "You guys wanna hear this or not?" Everyone pulled themselves together and got serious.

"Right, anyway, here's the deal. Our party found the boss room at the top of the tower today." Diabel notified as the players were astonished and skeptical at the information. "First, we need to defeat the boss and make it to floor 2... The next step is, we have to tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game!" He said with a strong and persuasive tone. _"Taking charge and ownership, huh? Will this be the guy to lead the players out and be the hero?" _Hiro wondered, slightly amazed by Diabel's compelling words.

"Fact is, it's our duty as the most capable players here... Do you agree or not?" Diabel added. The players looked at each other with determination and then started to clap and cheer. Hiro continued to lean his back on the wall, looking at the players who were cheering while keeping an expressionless face. _"Looks like we're making some progress..."_

"Okay!" Diabel said, continuing the discussion. "Glad to hear you're all with me on this... Now, let's figure out how we're going to beat the boss... First off, we'll team up into parties of six." When Hiro heard this suggestion from Diabel, he just closed his eyes and stayed in his spot, not wanting to follow his instructions as Diabel continued. "A typical party doesn't stand a chance against the floor boss. We need a raid group made up of multiple parties."

Hiro knew that most of the groups had complete members; all of them seem to know each other, so he didn't want to bother joining their group, heck, he even didn't plan on joining one to begin with, the idea didn't interest him, he was better on his own, until two other people approached him.

"Uh, hey, excuse me, do you by any chance wanna party up with us?" A black haired boy, that looked like around his age, asked him.

"Why would you want me in your group?" Hiro inquired the black haired male, still closing his eyes and leaning on the wall.

"Well, because we just happened to notice you in the corner all by yourself, so we thought, why not invite you to join us. You heard what the guy just said, we can't beat the boss on our own. We need all the help we can get and it's just the two of us in our party." The male with black hair said, trying to convince Hiro to party with them.

"I don't need your pity; I'm better off by myself." Hiro says, not happy with the words the other male stated.

"No, no! It's not like that; I mean, you look like you can hold your own, but we have to work as a group, and it would only be for this fight."

"Fine..."

"Great! Glad to have you on board." The raven haired boy said as he sent Hiro an invitation to join their party. When Hiro accepted the invitation, the names of the two and their HP bar appeared just below his.

_"Kirito? Asuna?" _He thought, now knowing who they were with Kirito's name being familiar. _"Where have I heard that name before?"_

_"Hiro?!"_ Kirito was surprised to see the name, as it also was familiar to him. "All right!" Diabel exclaimed as Kirito, Asuna, and Hiro turned their attention back at the stage. "Looks like everyone's teamed up... Now then, let's-"

"Hold up a sec!" A person from the audience interrupted Diabel as he skipped down the rows and landed in front of the gathered players. _"Well, well, who could this be? A short guy with a cactus on his head? Get real..." _Hiro snickered, thinking how this game has lots of anomaly. "My name's Kibaou, you got that?" The person, now known as Kibaou, introduced himself. "Before we take on the boss, I want to get something off my chest. We all know about the 2,000 people who died so far, yeah? Well, some of you need to apologize to 'em right now!" Kibaou stated with a firm tone as he pointed his finger at the crowd. Hiro glared at the man.

"Kibaou," Diabel began speaking again after he was interrupted, "I think I know who you're referring to... You mean the ones who are ex-beta testers, right?"

"Of course I mean them! Who else could I be referring to?! The day this stupid-ass game started, those bastards, the beta guys just up and vanished, right? They ditched all us beginners!"

Hiro just smirked at what Kibaou said; he knew that he was one of those so called 'bastards' who didn't even bother to help the newbies. "They snagged all the good hunting spots, and they grabbed all the easy quests too! They were the only ones getting stronger in here!" Kibaou complained as Hiro find it amusing knowing that this fellow was struggling all this time. "This whole time, they've ignored us like we're nothing." Kibaou gritted his teeth, getting himself worked up as he glared at some of the players, including Hiro. "Hell, I bet there's some of them here! Come on out, beta testers! We should make 'em apologize to us..." Hiro just narrowed his eyes on the cactus head. _"How pesky can this guy get?"_

"And we should make 'em give up their money and the items they got; they can't expect the party to trust 'em when they don't trust us... Why should we?" He started getting himself worked up all the more as he looked at Hiro's way. "You there!" He pointed at Hiro with a glare. "Yeah, you! I know you're one of them!" Kibaou shouted at Hiro, trying to reveal if he's truly one of the beta testers.

Hiro didn't flinch but kept an emotionless look. "Don't you try to hide it! With that outfit and gear, I'm sure you're a beta tester!"

"This guy's getting on my nerve..." Kirito and Asuna heard Hiro whispered. He finds it very irritating when someone yells at him, especially in public.

"Why don't you call out your buddies and start apologizing!"

Hiro started to find this guy really annoying. _"What a wimp..."_

"If you're not gonna apologize, then I'll just have to come up there and make you!"_  
_

"Will you shut the hell up?!" Hiro finally snapped. "What makes you think I'm a beta tester?! And what if I am? I'm not going to apologize to those dead weaklings!" The players were all taken by surprise at Hiro's sudden outburst as Kirito grabbed his shoulder to calm him down.

"Why you-" Kibaou snarled until he was cut off by a deep low voice.

"Can I say something?" A tall, bald man, carrying a big old axe, stood up and went down to the stage as Kibaou was frightened by his huge presence. Hiro was surprised to see the familiar man. He remembered seeing him during Arvin's tragic incident a month ago.

"Hey, the name's Agil... Kibaou, right?" His voice was strong and intimidating as Kibaou shrunk when he faced Agil. "I wanna make sure I'm on the same page... You say the beta testers should be blamed for the rookie's deaths because they didn't help, and you want them to apologize and give up their winnings... I leave anything out?"

"No, you didn't." Kibaou answered, trying to not get intimidated as Hiro smirked and wished that the big man would wipe the floor with Kibaou.

Agil then pulled out a small book for Kibaou to see. "The item store hands these out for free... It's a guide book... You got one, didn't you?" Hiro noticed the book he's holding as he had one too.

"Sure I got one... So what about it?"

"You know who was handing these out? The ex-beta testers." Whispers among the players swept through out the place as Hiro recalled contributing some few information about the game to Argo, and to other information dealers.

Agil turned around to the crowd as he continued. "Listen up. Everyone had equal access to this information. Even so, lot's players still died... Now I didn't come here to point fingers at anyone. I'm here 'cause I wanna learn from those player's deaths; I'm here 'cause I wanna find out how we're gonna beat the boss." Kirito was moved by Agil's speech while Hiro kept a stoic look, and Asuna, emotionless as ever because of her face being covered by her red hood. Agil turned around to face Kibaou again. Kibaou grunted and went back to take his sit followed by Agil.

"Okay, can we get back to the meeting now?" Diabel spoke again as the players nodded. "For info on the boss, it's all in here... The latest issue of the guidebook you just heard about." The players were surprised upon hearing there'd been a new issue released. "According to the book, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. Also, he'll be surrounded by his minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels... Illfang carries an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one turns red, he switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a 'Talwar'. He can change his pattern of attack, too."

_"Oh? So we can't read its movements... That just makes it more fun and challenging..." _Hiro thought as he found the information somewhat interesting.

Murmurs were heard all around as Diabel closed the guide book. "That's it for the briefing. As for the distribution of loot, money will be divided equally among everyone; the party that defeats the boss gets the XP, and whoever gets an item, gets to keep it." Diabel made good terms as the players didn't bring up any argument. "Any objections?" Everyone seemed satisfied. "Good! We leave tomorrow at 10 in the morning. Meeting adjourned, people."

As soon as everyone had been dismissed, the players stood up and went to leave; some gathered with their parties while Kirito, Asuna, and Hiro remained silent. Kirito saw Kibaou and Diabel getting along as he turned to look at his party members only to find Asuna leaving first, then Hiro.

* * *

The sun had gone down as the lamps and street light had lit. Hiro was doing his routine, strolling around the town of Tolbana until he came across Kirito who was leaning on a wall. "Hey." Kirito called out to him.

"Is that really you, Hiro?" He asked the brown haired boy. "Unfortunately." Hiro answered with an emotionless face while crossing his arms. "I mean, you wouldn't be, by any chance, the one in the beta test?" Kirito asked in a whispering tone, making sure everyone wasn't listening. Hiro nodded as he remembered Kirito during their time in the beta. "Yeah, it's me."

"Cool. It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Yeah, a long time indeed."

"So, this is what you look liked in real life. I didn't recognize you earlier."

"Same here."

"I thought you wouldn't play SAO again after the beta?" Kirito whispered again, knowing that beta testers have bad reputations.

"Me too, I thought I won't play this cursed game, I wish I had fulfilled what I said, I wouldn't be stuck here if I did." Hiro says, his voice filled with regret.

"No one knew this would happen, though. I never imagined Kayaba could do this to us." Kirito says, looking down.

"..."

"Hey, you wanna juice or something? My treat." Kirito offers as Hiro nodded. "Sure, I'll go buy."

"Cool, there's a cafe over there that sells one of the best tasting beverages in Tolbana. I'll wait for you here." Kirito gave Hiro the cols to buy the drinks.

When Hiro bought the drinks, he saw Kirito sitting next to a person wearing a red hood and eating a piece of bread; he assumed the person to be Asuna, who is also a member of their party. Hiro walked over to them and tossed a drink to Kirito. "Here you go."

"You really think this tastes good?" The hooded girl asked, referring to the bread they were eating. "Uh-huh." Kirito said while munching on his bread. "Since I came to this town, I ended up eating at least one a day; 'course, I got a trick to make it taste better." Kirito then placed an item between him and Asuna. "Cream?" The hooded girl asked as she applied some in her bread and ate it, to which she clearly enjoyed the taste.

"I got it from the Heifer Strikes Back, that's the quest in the village before you get to this one. You wanna know how I did it?"

Asuna shook her head. "I appreciate the offer, but... I didn't come to this town to eat good food."

"Okay, why are you here?" Kirito asked while Hiro just crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he leaned on a wall.

"So I don't lose sight of who I am." Hiro raised an eyebrow at her statement.

"I don't wanna lock myself in a room in the Town of Beginnings and slowly rot away; I'd rather stay the way I am til the last moment." Kirito and Hiro just looked at her, listening to her words as she continued. "Even if a monster beats me and I die, I won't lose... To this game or this world, no matter what." She finished as Kirito ate his last piece of bread and said, "I wouldn't want a party member dying on me... So try not to die tomorrow."

"I'll definitely won't die; I still have a score to settle." Hiro blurted out, earning the attention of the two.

"What do you mean?" Kirito asked with curiosity.

"Nothing, forget I said that."

The three remained silent after that, none of them really know what topic to talk about until Kirito began a conversation.

"It's been a month, now; I wonder how our families are doing." Kirito puts his hands behind his head, concerned for his family.

"I'm sure everyone's fine." Hiro said assuring them.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Knowing my mom and sister, I'm sure they're okay." Kirito says putting his hands down. "How bout your family? Do you think they're fine as well?" He asked, looking at Hiro.

"I-I guess..." Hiro stutters a bit.

"How bout you?" Kirito bounced the question to their female companion.

"Well, I guess they're probably fine, too."

The three decided to end their little chat and head for their respective inns where they would take their rest and prepare for the big battle tomorrow.

* * *

_December 3, 2022..._

It was the day that they've been waiting for; the day to finally bring hope to everyone who had endured and survived the game so far. The raid party walked through the forest heading towards the boss room. Kirito, Asuna, and Hiro followed behind the rest as they began to come up with a strategy of their own. "Let's go over it again. We're the back up, so our target's going to be the boss's minions, the Ruin Kobold Sentinels." Kirito says to both Asuna and Hiro.

"I know." Asuna answered as she already knew the details and sounded like she doesn't want someone to keep on telling her that. Hiro was walking behind the two while closing his eyes, he also lacked enthusiasm at listening to Kirito go over the details as Kirito continued.

"I'll use a sword skill to knock their weapons up and out of the way. When I do, switch and jump in."

"What's a switch?" Asuna's question made Kirito give her a puzzled look as Hiro opened one eye.

Kirito turned to looked at Hiro then back to Asuna. "Okay, level with us. Is this the first time you've ever been with a party? "

"Uh-huh."

Kirito was taken aback as he slowly stopped in his tracks; he was completely dumbfounded by her answer. "How lucky can we get..." Hiro verbalized, thinking how unfortunate they were for having her in their party.

"Hey, it's not my fault for lacking any experience with parties." Asuna retorted at the statement.

"You could have told us, you know- so we wouldn't have this problem." Hiro responded without a care on what the female would think or feel.

"You think I'm a problem?" Asuna irked. "Fine. If that's what I am to you, you can go on ahead without me; I'll just head back to Tolbana." She stopped walking and began to turn around.

"Hey. Don't, he didn't mean that." Kirito grabbed her arm and tried to stop her from leaving.

"Let go of me." She said softly, trying to be patient.

"Now, hold on, red. I didn't say you're the problem. Geez." Hiro tried to clear the misunderstanding.

"Apologize." Asuna demanded, the hood still covered her face.

"Apologize for what? I didn't do anything."

"Hiro, just apologize." Kirito spoke after a few moments of just being silent.

"I don't normally apologize to people, so don't expect me to start with you." Hiro stated, getting irritated a bit.

"Hey guys! Pick up the pace, will you? We're almost there; the boss's room is up ahead." Agil called out at the three. Hiro put his hands inside his pockets as he went ahead of the two.

"Just don't mind him. He has his reasons for being that way." Kirito tried to comfort Asuna. "That jerk, who does he think he is?" Asuna grumbled walking behind Kirito as he began explaining about the basics and advantage of Switch.

* * *

When they reached the entrance where the boss was, everyone was tensed as Diabel gave a final remark. "Listen up, everyone. I've only got one thing to say to you- let's win!" After saying those words, Diabel's eyes remained on Hiro and Kirito for a moment, which Hiro noticed and was suspicious about it._  
_

"Come on!" Diabel placed his hand on the surface of the giant door, to which it opened and revealed a dark room. The players entered carefully as they saw, from the distance, a huge figure sitting on a throne as its eyes beamed red in the shadows. Diabel went in first, leading his party as the environment of the room changed into something colorful. The huge figure soared into the air and landed in front of them. The enormous red monster with four health bars revealed itself to be Illfang the Kobold Lord. "This is it." Hiro said as the expected Sentinel minions were summoned. Diabel gave the order to commence the attack; the players charged in with a loud war cry.

It was a chaotic battle as Diabel stood in the rear, giving the command and placing the squads to where they're suppose to be. "Squads D, E, and F, keep those minions off us!" He ordered. "Yeah, you got it!" Kirito followed; Hiro sighed, not wanting to follow orders but chooses to do so. "Do we have to follow everything he says?" Hiro complained while slashing a minion.

"We don't have a choice! Just follow the plan!" Kirito said, blocking an attack from a sentinel in mid air. "Switch!" Kirito shouted; Asuna dashed in towards the sentinel. "I'm on it!" She did a sword skill that was quick and powerful.

_"I thought she was a beginner..." _Kirito thought, surprised by her movements.

_"So she does have skills..." _Hiro also thought, slightly impressed.

"Great job, Asuna." Kirito commended her as she gave a nod in return but confused on how he knew her name.

"Not bad, red. You're not useless, after all." Hiro says sarcastically but acknowledged her ability.

"..."

"Let's see what else you can do." Hiro provoked Asuna as she continued to charge towards the sentinels maintaining that incredible quickness.

Hiro and Kirito also activated their sword skills until they got surrounded and posed into a back to back position. "Just like in the beta?" Kirito reminisced their time during in the beta. "Yeah, but this time, it's not with wolves we're up against." Hiro answered as they both charged in the opposite direction from one another.

"How many sentinels are there?"

"I don't know just keep attacking! Their bound to run out any time soon!" Hiro noticed a bunch of sentinels ganging up on Asuna as one of them was about to strike her from behind. He quickly dashed in and blocked the attack. "Better watch your back, red. Or else you'll end up into a million pieces." Hiro smirked but didn't notice a sentinel from behind.

"Watch out!" Kirito called out as Asuna bolted behind Hiro and blocked the attack. "Better watch your back, jerk. Or else you're the one who's gonna end up into a million pieces." She stated, earning a glare from Hiro as they both slashed the sentinels.

Kirito smiled as he felt his party members getting along. He knew that his party was doing a good job on their part as he saw the boss with only one and a half health bars remaining. _"We can do this..." _He thought with determination as he striked his sword in the sentinels belly. Hiro was also pleased with their fighting as they heard Illfang growled and threw its weapons; its fourth health bar now on the red zone.

"Looks like the guide book was right." Kibaou said, grinning at the boss.

"Stand back! I got it!" Diabel suddenly sprinted towards the boss. _"What's this?" _Hiro questioned in his mind, suspicious of Diabel's actions.

_"I thought the plan was for everyone in the group to surround it?" _Kirito thought, confused as he watched him.

"Looks like someone has made other plans." Hiro muttered, to which Diabel slightly heard and turned to look at him and Kirito as he smirked.

"I knew it, he's a beta tester too; he's after the last attack bonus." Hiro said quietly, thinking how selfish Diabel was as Kirito's eyes were on the blue haired male.

When Illfang pulled out its sword, Kirito's eyes widen. _"That's not a Talwar...!" _Kirito thought, unexpected to see the weapon._"It's a Nodachi...!" _Hiro also thought, surprised to see that instead of a Talwar.

_"This isn't like the beta!" _Kirito and Hiro slashed the remaining sentinels.

"Wait; stop!" Kirito cried out as few heads, including Kibaou, turned to him. "It's no good! Get out of there!" Kirito shouted; Diabel didn't listen as he kept charging in towards the boss. Illfang suddenly jumped high and hopped from one pillar to another then landed a powerful slash across Diabel's body sending him flying and another hit, knocking him on the floor.

"Diabel! No!" Kibaou cried out as Illfang landed in the middle of the players as Kirito rushed to Diabel. "What the hell were you thinking?!" Kirito was concerned as he took a healing potion when he saw that Diabel's HP was in the red zone and still decreasing.

Before Kirito could give the potion, his hand was stopped by Diabel. "Y-You two were beta testers too, weren't you?" The blue haired male said as he saw Hiro standing behind Kirito; Kirito was shocked at what Diabel said.

"You were after the last attack bonus, the rare item. You're just like us, a beta tester!" Kirito stated.

"When I saw you both at the meeting yesterday, I suspected you two to be beta testers as well; I thought of you as rivals for the rare item." Diabel said, admitting his selfish ambitions.

"It was a well-thought plan, saving your strength while you let us do the dirty work; too bad it didn't go well." Hiro said coldly, looking down on the dying Diabel.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm guilty for being selfish... please... you have to... defeat the boss... for everyone here... " Diabel said his last words before bursting into a million shards. Kirito's face was filled with sadness, almost like he wanted to shed tears as he recalled his main objective, which was to survive, and compared it Diabel's objective.

_"I thought he would be the hero... Guess I was wrong..."_

Kirito then stood up and turned to face the boss, his eyes narrowing on the red monster. Asuna rushed to his left side. "I'll go too." Hiro stepped forward to Kirito's right. "Same here."

Kirito nodded then tightened his grip on his sword. "Okay." The three charged towards the boss as Kirito gave out his plan of attack. "We'll hit him just like we did the minions."

"You got it." Asuna responded; Hiro was just silent, locking his eyes on the boss. Kirito activated his sword skill and clashed it with the boss's own, knocking them both off balance as Kirito shouted, "Switch!"

Hiro soared through the air delivering a powerful slash with his sword, causing it to collide with the Nodachi, which sent Hiro a few steps back. "Switch!"

Asuna rushed in and activated her sword skill, trying to take advantage while Illfang was off balanced but to no avail as Illfang quickly recovered and slashed through her hood as she countered with her own blow, sending the monster flying. She landed gracefully in front of Kirito and Hiro to reveal a long chestnut-brown hair that fell down freely but was braided at the back.

The two boys just stared at Asuna, awestruck by her appearance without her hood. _"That face... It's the girl from the town square..."_ Hiro thought, remembering the familiar-looking girl who bumped into him at the Town of Beginnings, during the first day when they were trapped.

Asuna glanced at the two boys that was staring at her, now being able to get a better look at them without her hood to obscure her vision. _"It's him..." _Asuna quickly thought, also remembering Hiro from the first day; she was surprised to see him being her teammate all this time.

"He's coming back!" Kirito shouted, breaking his stare as he stood up and rushed in to collided his sword with Illfang's. Hiro and Asuna sprinted in, delivering multiple strikes and blows to the boss, which in turn, blocked every hit all three gave.

Illfang launched its own blow again at Asuna, but was blocked when Kirito saw the attack and rushed in. The boss made a diagonal swing that surprised Kirito, sending him flying and crashed into Asuna, causing both to fall to the ground. Asuna got back up but saw Kirito's health bar decreasing as he tried his best to get up. Illfang jumped in front of them, preparing to deliver a fatal blow that could end their lives until Hiro and Agil jumped in and countered the attack with their sword and axe, sending the monster a few steps back.

"What's a matter? You two getting tired already?" Hiro sneered at Kirito and Asuna.

"We can hold this bastard off until your health's back up." Agil assured them as the other players made their move and charged in as well.

"You got it." Kirito said with gratitude as Agil and Hiro joined the fray. Asuna helped Kirito up after he took a healing potion. Hiro gave out the most hits as the players supported him while he gave them strategic ways on attacking the boss.

"Squad A! Focus on its right leg!"

"Squad C and D, support Squad B in preventing it from activating its sword skill!"

"The rest of you, circle around it! Make sure he doesn't have an opening to escape!"

Hiro was on a roll giving battle plans while launching big attacks of his own. _"This is just like a game of chess where you almost have the king..."_

When Illfang was able to create an opening, it jumped high in the air, preparing another sword skill. "Watch out!" Kirito then kicked off the ground and activated his sword skill, once again colliding with Illfang but this time, he was able to slash it's belly and sent it crashing on the ground. "C'mon Hiro! Asuna! Help me beat this sucker! One last attack!" Kirito called out, dashing towards Illfang.

"You got it!" Asuna responded, rushing in Kirito's side.

"Way ahead of you." Hiro answered, sprinting on the opposite side.

All three took turns in slashing, delivering strong blows and activating their sword skill at the boss; their faces determined with one goal in mind- to defeat Illfang the Kobold Lord and proceed to floor 2. Hiro raised his sword, attempting to strike the boss, only to find his sword breaking after the collision with the Nodachi. He quickly bounced back to avoid any hits from Illfang. "It's all yours!"

Kirito's eyes were filled with rage and intensity as he sliced Illfang on the side sending it to fly in the air; causing it to glow a bright light and then shattered into a thousand shards.

The battle with the boss was finally over as the Congratulations Screen appeared, causing everyone to celebrate the victory they achieved. Asuna reached out to Hiro saying, "Good job." Hiro just smirked accepting the support from her as he responded, "You're not half as bad as you looked." They both approached Kirito, who was still leaning and trying to catch his breath; the holographic screen appeared in front of him, notifying that he got the last attack bonus; the two pulled him up to his feet and commended him.

"Nice job." Asuna said, arms crossed as Agil approached the three. "That was some fine swordsmanship you three have shown; congratulations." He gave them a thumbs up. "Today's victory is all thanks to you." He added, looking at Kirito.

"No." Kirito tried to deny it but all the players clapped and cheered as Hiro patted him on his back. "Seriously though, good job." Kirito smiled at his statement but quickly remembered that his weapon was destroyed during the final moments of the battle. "Your sword! Are y-" Hiro cut him of saying, "It's alright, I'll get a new one now that floor 2 is made available for us." He assured Kirito, who in turn, gave him a nod.

"Stop cheering!" Everyone turned to see Kibaou sitting on the floor. "Why'd you do it, uh? Why'd you let Diabel die?"

_"What is this wimp on now?" _Hiro thought, raising an eyebrow.

"Let him die?" Kirito responded, confused as well as Kibaou raised his head. "That's what I said. Admit it! You knew the technique the boss was gonna use; you could have told us. Then Diabel would have stood a chance. He wouldn't have had to die!" The atmosphere had suddenly changed as murmurs began to spread among the players. "I know why he knew! He used to be a beta tester! Think about it, he knew the boss's attack patterns! He knew, but he kept it from us." Some random guy from the crowd said. "And I bet he's not the only beta tester around here. C'mon, show yourselves!"

_"Looks like the jig is up..."_ Hiro glared at the accuser as people looked at each other with suspicious looks.

"Hey! That guy who was with him!" Another one shouted, this time pointing at Hiro.

"I knew he looked suspicious! His skills were advanced and he knew were the vital spots of the boss!"

"I bet that girl with them is also one, too! She was fast as hell!"

"Those three are beta testers!"

Shouts of accusations began to increase in the room as Hiro rushed forward and choked one of the accusers. "Shut up!" Hiro exclaimed as he tightened his hold on the accusing player's neck; the players were surprised at his violent action. "See! I knew he was a beta tester! And his planning to kill us, now that the cat's out of the bag!" Kibaou retorted as the other players unsheathed their swords preparing to attack Hiro. "Hey, calm down!" Agil grabbed Hiro's shoulder.

_"This is bad... At this rate..." _Kirito thought, worried for other's condition and well being.

Kirito began to laugh hysterically. "So you guys think I used to be a beta tester..." He began. "You're right..." He stood up. "But it's not cool to put me in the same class with him and those other noobs." Kirito said as he pointed at Hiro with a grin. "And don't bother harassing the girl, she's not a beta tester."

_"What are you up to?" _Hiro was confused at his actions.

"What'd you say?!" Kibaou was skeptical.

"You heard me. Most of the 1,000 people who scored a slot in SAO's beta were rookies. They were so green, they didn't even know how to level up. Hell, even you guys were better than they were." Kirito walked in the middle of the crowd, his hair covering his eyes as he continued. "But me, I'm nothing like those guys, man. During the beta, I made it to floors that were higher than any of the other testers. That's a fact. I knew about the boss 'cause I fought tons of monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors." His eyes were mocking the players. "I know a bunch of other things, too. More than you can imagine; more than any info broker."

"Wh-What the hell? If that's true, then your worst than a beta tester. You're a damn cheater, that's what you are!" Kibaou exclaimed at Kirito as the other players began to shout at him as well.

"He's a beta tester and a cheater! He's a beater!"

"A beater. Yeah, that's good." Everyone backed away, thinking that he was crazy for liking the term even though it was meant to insult and discriminate him. Kirito opened his main menu. "Okay, you can call me a beater. Just make sure you don't confuse me with those beta testers anymore." His sickening grin made everyone gave him furious looks as he chose an item and equipped it; a long black leather coat that fell over his shoulders.

_"That must be the bonus item he got." _Hiro thought; Kirito glanced at him, smirking as he headed for the stairs. Asuna ran after him, followed by Hiro, who placed his hands on his pockets and walked slowly to catch up to them while scowling at the accusing players. "I'll deal with you losers later."

"Yeah, you better run." Kibaou threatened him to which Hiro just smirked as he continued to walk away slowly.

Kirito walked up the stairs as Hiro had caught up with the two, just in time to hear Asuna speak. "Wait." Asuna said to Kirito, stopping him from taking any further steps. "When we were fighting the boss, you called me by my name." She asked, curious as to how he knew her name. "I wasn't trying to be rude, did I mess up the pronunciation?" He asked.

"How'd you even know?"

"If you look, right about here; you'll see another HP gauge under yours. There's a name written right next to it, yeah?" Kirito pointed at where the HP gauge was as Asuna looked closely to where he meant.

"Ki-rito... Hi-ro... Kirito? Hiro?" Asuna said, unsure of the pronunciation of the two names.

"Your name's Kirito." She said to him.

"And yours is Hiro." She turned to Hiro who was just standing in the lower ground.

"Yeah." Kirito responded, his bangs covered his eyes.

"I'm so dumb." She chuckled. "It was there the whole time and I never knew." She said with a cheerful face.

_"How could she not noticed?" _Hiro sighed, wanting to voice out but decided not to.

"You guys can become powerful here on your own. But if the day comes when someone you trust invites you to join a guild, don't turn it down; 'cause there are limits to what a solo player can do." Kirito stated.

"But... you're solo." She said softly as Kirito opened his main menu and disbanded the party. "Hiro..." Kirito began. "You and Asuna are skilled players. You guys should stick together and become even stronger."

Hiro didn't respond but maintained an emotionless mood.

"Take care of Asuna." Kirito said, turning to the door that opened and walked in.

The three didn't know what the future holds for them, or what fate lies for each individual as they ascend to the 2nd floor. It was a whole new journey for everyone who were trapped. Thinking if they'd ever see Kirito again as they watch him leave, Hiro stood there, buried deep within his thoughts and a small grin started to form on his face.

_"We made it through the first floor... I'm coming, Kayaba. Just you wait."_

* * *

**That's it for chapter 3. Hope you enjoyed.**

**Please leave a review, even if it's only one word.**

**Take care.**


	5. Transitions

**Hey guys, here's the latest chapter. Sorry for the late update. Been busy but anyway, here it is.**

**Another long chapter.**

**Hope you like it. R&R**

**CHAPTER 4**

* * *

_December 31, 2022... _

_23:50..._

_"You guys can become powerful here on your own. But if the day comes when someone you trust invites you to join a guild, don't turn it down; 'cause there are limits to what a solo player can do..."_

_"You and Asuna are skilled players..."_

_"You guys should stick together and become... __even stronger."_

Hiro continued to linger on the words that Kirito said to him and Asuna before he left them. _"What naive words..."_

It's been a few weeks since the victory over the first floor boss and ever since the players ascended to the higher floors, Hiro and Asuna decided to take Kirito's advice and formed a two-man party. They were doing a pretty good job taking on quests and leveling up. Both of them have gotten along pretty well recently and have been acknowledging each other's skills for the past several quests and boss fights. One thing that hasn't change, their prides were still intact. They were also part of the front liners that cleared the floor bosses and would frequently see Kirito on the front lines and fight alongside him; nothing more, nothing less. It didn't change the fact that they were considered outcasts because of Hiro being a 'beta-tester' and Kirito being a 'beater'. They would frequently get criticized and receive loads of insults. But both Kirito and Hiro seemed to manage and have gotten used to it.

Hiro and Asuna were now in a cafe located at floor 16. The two just came back from a quest and decided to relax a bit while ordering coffee and milk tea before settling in their respective inns.

"Can you believe the progress we've made?" Asuna asked Hiro. "Yeah." He responded with a calm tone while looking at the window.

"Who knew we could reach floor 16 so quickly after clearing the first floor a few weeks ago." She said, happy with how far they have reached. "Ever since we defeated the first floor boss, everyone really got into it. I'm amazed how Kibaou motivated everyone on the front lines to keep on fighting." She added. Hiro didn't respond but kept an expressionless look. He didn't like remembering Kibaou after the incident on the first floor.

After a few moments of silence and waiting, their order was served. Hiro had the coffee and Asuna had the milk tea. "Hey, Hiro?" Asuna began. "What is it?" The boy replied, taking a sip of his coffee. "Do you think we can clear the entire game soon? I mean it's the last day of the year and we're about to welcome a new year." She said softly.

"I don't know..."

"Oh." Asuna looked at her tea.

"Even though we're on a roll, there's no guarantee that the next floors would be easy picking."

"I guess you're right." She said with a sad tone. She knew the fact that the higher they went, the more difficult the bosses were to beat. "I'd really want all of us to get out of this death game as soon as possible, it sucks having to spend the new year here and not with your family." Her voice was filled with sadness as Hiro didn't know what to say but could only respond with a nod. Hiro remembered the vibe Asuna gave when they first met; the night before the first floor boss raid, at the town of Tolbana, her words were firm and was filled with determination, but now he noticed a discouraging tone on her voice.

"Hey, don't worry. We can do this. We'll clear the game before you know it. Don't lose hope." He said to her. It wasn't his style to say things like that but he didn't know what else to say, especially to her. Fortunately, what he said cheered her up. Even though they managed to see eye to eye once in a while, they still see each other as potential rivals and would constantly compete with each other's skill to see who was way better.

"Thanks." She said with a soft smile. "Uh... Sure... No problem." He responded with an flustered look.

"Like I said before, I won't lose to this game... No matter what the cost... I'll keep on going." Her words were once again filled with a strong sense of resolution as Hiro nodded and took another sip to finish his coffee.

"You know, you're not so bad after all." Asuna said out of the blue.

"Where'd that come from?"

Asuna chuckled. "Nevermind."

Hiro decided to ignore it and looked to see the time indicated was already '00:02'. It was passed midnight as the players welcomed the new year with sadness and misery. Hiro breathed a deep sigh as he turn to look outside the window.

"What's wrong?" Asuna asked, wondering why the sudden gasp.

"Nothing..."

"Oh c'mon, it wasn't just 'nothing'..." She argued as Hiro tried to brush it off.

"..."

"I know something's up. You can tell me, I'm your teammate after all." She tried to convinced him to open up to her but got the silent treatment instead. From the time when they began partying together, Asuna slowly began to be open to Hiro, thinking it be good to know him better if they wanted their chemistry as a two-man party to go smoothly and if they want to develop teamwork. "Fine. If you don't want to, then I won't force you." She said in a slightly angry manner as she crossed her arms.

"Really, it's nothing... It's just... It's my birthday..." Hiro says in a very low tone, his hand covering his face, annoyed by the fact he shared a personal information to someone he barely knew. He didn't consider Asuna a stranger, but he also didn't consider her to be someone close to him. They've just known each other for a couple of weeks and there are a lot of things Asuna has yet to discover about Hiro, and vice versa.

"What? Really?! Well, why didn't you say sooner? Happy birthday!" Asuna greeted him while beaming a smile.

"Y-Yeah, whatever." He replied while scratching his head. He was hesitant at the greeting he got from her.

"Aren't you happy that it's your birthday? And to think that you were born on the first day of the year." She tried to be enthusiastic.

"How can I be? We're stuck in this damn game, there's no room to be happy at a time like this." He stated. Asuna just felt sad at the statement and realized that he was right.

Silence filled the atmosphere once again until Asuna thought of something. "Excuse me! Can we have two large milk tea?" She exclaimed at the waiter, who nodded in response to her order. "What the hell are you doing?" Hiro asked, knowing where this was going. "Isn't it obvious? We're going to celebrate your birthday, silly." She replied in a calm manner as she continued thinking.

"What?!" Hiro said, shocked at her sudden behavior.

"Oh, and one special strawberry cake along with that order." She added. The waiter nodded and listed it down.

"What's with the cake, Asuna?!" Hiro retorted, earning a glare from Asuna.

"What's a birthday celebration without a cake, right?"

"But I don't-" Before he could finish, he was cut off by Asuna. "Don't worry, I have plenty of cols, it's all on me. This is my way of showing thanks for sticking around." She said with a firm tone along with a cheerful look. Hiro didn't want to argue anymore and decided to play along. He was really taken aback by the girl's behavior. It was his first time seeing her with much enthusiasm.

"Geez, what happened to the rough attitude?" He inquired. "You sure are unusually nice for someone who's strict and unrelenting."

"Do you always think of me that way?!" She glared at him.

"Well, duh; the way you've been since I met you; serious, showing no compassion, I'd say I got used to the first impression I had towards you."

"Like you're the one to talk. But anyway, today's different. Just shut up and enjoy the treat." She retorted and showed a cheerful look.

Normally, she would act cold and strict towards him and even challenge the boy to a duel whenever he would make fun of her skills or whenever he wouldn't submit to her authority. To him, she was a strong person and someone who wouldn't back down easily, especially in an argument. Despite all the negative impression Hiro had on Asuna, he never knew that she could also be this nice, until now. Hiro thought that maybe this was her true personality or somewhat part of who she is as a person.

"Fine."

"Good. Anyway, how old are you now?" She asked, taking a sip of her milk tea.

"Don't you think you're asking way too many personal information?" He crossed his arms. "Well. It is your birthday, it's only fitting to know how old you are now." She stated, Hiro just sighed.

"If you must know, I'm already 15." He replied, with an annoyed tone. "I see. We're the same age, I'm also 15 but I'll be turning 16 this year so that makes you a year younger than me." She stated. "Is that so? When's your birthday?" He asked. "I'm not telling." She stick her tongue out to him in a teasing manner.

"Hey, You knew mine; it's only fair that I know yours too."

"Yeah, but I only knew that because of your carelessness. I'm not giving personal information to someone I barely knew."

"That was supposed to be my line." Hiro said, slowly getting irritated. Asuna just smirked. "It's no big deal, right? It's not like I got your real name or what." She said to the glaring boy. "Knowing someone's date of birth is one thing but knowing someone's real identity is a whole new level. You can bet I won't go that far snooping in other people's private information." She added. Hiro didn't respond but kept a cool demeanor. Knowing someone's true identity was already deemed a personal thing, not to mention very crucial. It could lead a player to his/her grave if wrong people were to find out.

Hiro knew that too well. He did his best to keep a low profile. If people were to know Hiro's real name and what family he came, he would be a target to crooks who were stuck with him in this death game. He was the heir of the Sato Corp after all, a well-known establishment across Japan. Many would want to get their hands on the wealth and power of that company. They could kill him inside the virtual world and try to take over the position if they manage to get out of SAO.

_"You can never be too careful..."_

"I wonder how Kirito's doing." Asuna said, looking outside the window with a look of concern.

"I'm sure his fine. He's pretty strong and can stand on his own two feet. I shouldn't worry about him if I were you."

"Yeah, I know he's strong. He even cleared five floors by himself in the past few days. I mean, it's just... I know he's all alone out there and discriminated 'cause he was labeled a 'beater'." She said with a sad look.

"Yeah, but knowing Kirito, I'm sure that won't bring him down."

"Hey, I noticed your eyes are... odd." Asuna stated her observation of him as she changed the subject.

"I get that a lot. I know it looks weird, you don't have to rub it in my face.." Hiro grumbled while crossing his arms.

"No, no! I didn't mean it that way. I think it's kinda cool."

"What's so cool about having a green eye on the right and red eye on the left? I hate it; it's disgusting; Why can't I have a normal pair of eyes like most people. I look like a complete moron."

"I don't think so. The color suits you." Hiro just raised an eyebrow to that statement and giving her an annoyed look.

"The combination of the colors matches your cold personality." She said with a smile, earning a glare from him.

"Are you trying to pick a fight?"

"What? I'm right, am I not? It adds a certain vibe that makes you look sharp." She stated with a mischievous grin, not intimidated one bit on what Hiro said.

"What does that suppose to mean?"

"I don't know. I can't explain it, but all I can say that it's suits you. That's that." She said with glee.

The two spent chatting, debating and arguing for a few minutes. Once their order of milk teas and strawberry cake was served, they didn't hesitate and began devouring it right away. Strawberry has always been Hiro's favorite. He was glad that Asuna thought of ordering one. "I didn't know you liked strawberry, Hiro." Asuna said, slicing a piece for herself. "Yeah, it has always been my favorite since I was a little kid." He replied, taking a small piece and putting it in his mouth. "Well, glad I picked the right one." She said with a cheerful face.

After they finished eating, the two saw that it was already one in the morning when they finished their little celebration.

"huuuaaaaaaahhh..." Asuna gave a deep yawn and stretched her arms. Both of them were satisfied with the cake and agreed that it was delicious.

"Tired already?"

"Yeah, I'm full! That cake was awesome. I think I'm gonna turn in and head to my inn." She said as she sat in a lazy position, almost closing her eyes.

"Yeah, me too." Hiro said as he stretched his arms as well.

"What's our agenda for tomorrow?" She stood up and stretched her back.

"We have a meeting about the 16th floor boss at the square garden."

"Oh, right. What time was it again? 11 am?" Hiro nodded at her inquiry.

"Alright. See you tomorrow, and don't be late, Hiro!" She said in a scolding tone, placing her hands in her waist.

"Yeah, yeah." He responded with an annoyed tone of his own. And with that, the two went out of the cafe and headed in their respective inns; Asuna's inn was two blocks away and Hiro's inn was at the far end of town.

* * *

_February 2023..._

**CONGRATULATIONS!**

Everyone cheered after defeating the 25th floor boss. Hiro and Asuna commended each other for a job well done. It wasn't easy though. In fact, many of the players especially in the Aincrad Liberation Force were reduced big time due to false info about the boss. This resulted Kibaou and the remaining members to leave from the clearing group.

"Good job, guys. It's always been a pleasure fighting alongside you." Agil said to the two. "Yeah, same here." Hiro smirked. "Was that a new skill you used? I haven't seen you using a technique like that before." The bald man asked the boy. "Yeah, you got good observation, Agil. I got it two days ago from a quest me and Asuna completed. It's a 10-hit combo called Nova Ascension." Hiro replied. "Pretty sweet move." Agil stated.

"Hey did you see Kirito? I haven't seen him since the meeting yesterday." Asuna asked Agil.

"No, I haven't. I've been looking for him myself. He owes me some cols." He replied.

"Heh. That Kirito." Hiro said while smirking. "Could you remind him when you see him?" Agil asked the two.

"Sure. No problem. Listen, we gotta go. C'mon Asuna, let's head for the gate. I wanna check out floor 26 right away. See yah 'round, Agil." Hiro said while walking ahead as Asuna nodded and followed, waving goodbye to Agil.

"See yah guys." Agil said to them.

* * *

_Several days later..._

Hiro was walking around town as he spotted Argo on the corner of an alley. "Hey, what's up, Hiro?" Argo asked him. "Nothing much, just doing the usual stroll while waiting for Asuna to return from her quest." He replied. "I see. Listen, about the clearing meeting tomorrow for the 26th boss, I got something that may interest you." The girl with whiskers said with an enticing tone. "What is it this time you rat." He narrowed his eyes towards her.

"Now, now. No need to be jumpy. You know me, right? All my information is good." She stated.

"And it comes with a price." He added, slowly getting irritated as Argo just smirked.

"Don't worry, it's not that expensive, and because you're one of the top clearers, I'll even give you a discount you lucky boy." She said with a grin.

"How much are we talking?"

"Not much. Just 4000 cols." The rat-girl said cheerfully.

"You damn rat." He was furious after hearing Argo give him the price.

"Hey! That info is worth 10,000 cols, you know. I got several players buying them without any complaints." She stated, calming him down.

"Ugh, fine." Hiro opened his menu and transferred 4000 cols to Argo.

"Great. Now, I heard that someone's gathering top-notch players and inviting them to form a guild." She said as Hiro kept silent and continued listening. "But not just any guild. I heard it's gonna be a powerful guild, unlike any other. And they're gonna be debuting tomorrow at the meeting."

"I see." Hiro crossed his arms and leaned on the wall.

"So if you're a strong player. You're a sure candidate for this. Ain't it awesome? Finally, the strong can band together to clear floors even faster." Argo said with a look of relief and excitement.

"Yeah. That'd be great for those who wanna be in a guild. I don't plan on being one." Hiro stated with a firm tone.

"Not happy with the info? Maybe I sold this to the wrong customer. Too bad, I don't do refunds." The rat-girl says while putting her hands behind her head. "Well, see you tomorrow at the meeting, Hiro." She turned away and began walking away from him. Hiro remained a little while longer at the alley.

_"A new guild that's welcoming the strongest players... Maybe that is interesting... Guess I'll see them first hand tomorrow."_

* * *

_The following day..._

Hiro and Asuna arrived at a hall where the meeting took place. They listened to a person leading the discussion about the floor boss. They decided to remain standing because of the lack of place to sit as the hall was filled with many players than usual. "There sure are many of us now. I hope no false info will be given this time." Hiro says while crossing his arms. "Don't worry, the ones in charge made sure that no mistakes will be repeated." Asuna answered him.

When the meeting had ended, a tall and muscular person wearing red armor spoke up. "Everyone, may I have your attention, please. My name is Heathcliff." This got everyone's attention, especially Hiro's and Asuna's.

"We all know that the lead clearing guild, the ALF, had departed from the clearing group and this left us with no clearing guild to lead. Now, some of you here might have heard about the rumor about someone's gathering the best players." The man in red armor said. "That someone was me. I've gathered the strongest players everywhere and formed this guild." He said, opening his arms as the players who were part of the guild that he mentioned walked in and stood behind him. "Everyone, we are the Knights of the Blood Oath. We are here to be the lead guild in fighting the boss and clearing floors from now on."

Everyone listening were shocked on hearing this but some players started cheering because of the newly declared lead guild. "Alright! We have ourselves a new lead clearing guild!" A random person said. "Yeah! These guys are the real deal! All of the strongest players I know is part of that guild." Another one said.

"This guild might be even better than ALF!"

"I think they're 100 times more stronger!"

"With these guys, we're sure to clear floors and beat bosses faster!"

"Hooray for the Knights of the Blood Oath!"

Loud cheers could be heard all over as everyone was happy to know that a new guild, filled with strong players, were taking the lead. "Isn't this amazing, Hiro?" Asuna said with a smile. "I wish we could be part of it too." She added, Hiro didn't respond but kept a close eye on Heathcliff. "Furthermore," Heathcliff continued, "If any of you who is capable of fighting strong monsters or has the ability and desire to be part of the lead guild, you are more than welcome to join us. We are still recruiting for strong players." The man said as noise and whispers from the players began to rise. "And even if you are not that skilled, but has a strong desire to be powerful someday, you can also join us." He added.

"Let's join Knights of the Blood, Hiro!" Asuna said after hearing Heathcliff's invitation. "This is a great opportunity for us!" She said with much enthusiasm.

"I don't know." Hiro scratched his head, showing signs of doubts. "I'm not feeling up to it."

"What? Why?" She focused her eyes on her with a look of confusion as the man in red armor was ending his announcement. "That is all, you are dismissed." He finished and all the players left the hall and went on their different ways.

Hiro and Asuna decided to spend some time relaxing in a cafe and discuss some battle plans for tomorrow's boss raid. After some time, Asuna spoke up. "Hiro, why don't you wanna join up with the new guild?" She asked in a serious tone.

"I told you, I'm not up to it." He replied plainly.

"Why?" She asked as she narrowed her eyes on him.

"We don't need to join up with those guys. We're better off on our own." He explained to her, but Asuna didn't took his explanation into consideration.

"Look, remember what Kirito said to us after the first floor boss fight? I sure hope you didn't forget his advice." She said firmly as she placed her hands on her waists. The boy didn't respond and acted like he wasn't listening. This made Asuna irked and as she was about to stand up, a man approached them. "Greetings." Hiro and Asuna turned their heads to the man. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is-"

"We know who you are, Heathcliff." Hiro replied coldly.

"Good. Then you probably know why I'm here."

"You're gonna recruit us into your so called 'powerful guild'?" The boy asked, acting like there was another reason why Heathcliff was there.

"The Knight of the Blood Oath needs your caliber. I'm giving you the privilege to be a part of this guild." The man said, trying to win the two by praising them.

"Why would you want us into your guild when you already have the strongest players in it?" Hiro questioned, closing his eyes and crossing his arms.

"My research tells me that you two are one of the top clearers. I just couldn't help but invite you to join my guild." The man said, now trying to flatter them.

"Sorry. But the answer is no." Hiro said with a straightforward tone.

"Oh? But won't you reconsider? At least think it over. This is an offer only a few can ever receive." Heathcliff tried to entice them.

"We will. We'll think it over." Asuna spoke up after hearing the two conversing for a while. Hiro remained silent as Asuna gave a pleading look to Hiro to which he just ignored.

"Good. You have until tomorrow to give me your final decision. I hope you decide wisely." Heathcliff said as he walked away and exited the cafe.

"Hiro." Asuna called out in a firm tone, narrowing her eyes on the boy in front of her. Hiro didn't respond but opened one eye and smirked. "If you don't wanna accept his invitation, then I guess I'll-" She was once again cut off by Hiro. "You'll what? Leave?"

"I'll join up with the Knights of the Blood on my own." She said firmly. "Be my guest. No one's stopping you." He stated, not caring at all on what she said.

"Fine, that's what I'll do." She said as she stood up and walked out the door of the cafe.

Hiro stayed for a while and did some thinking. _"Damn, what am I doing? Have I lost track of my real goal?"_ When he was done deciding things, he left the cafe and searched for Asuna. As he was walking on the streets, he spotted her sitting beside the fountain.

"Hey." Hiro said to which Asuna didn't respond and didn't look at him. "Look, I'm sorry for being a total jerk and all." Hiro began, Asuna still didn't looked at him but kept eyes on the fountain. "I know how determined you are to get stronger and how badly you wanna get out of this world, so I'm not gonna hold you back. I did some thinking and I think that it's time we go our separate ways." Asuna finally turned her eyes to look at him.

"If you wanna join up with the Knights of the Blood Oath, then it's fine by me. I think these people will really help you get stronger."

"How about you?" She finally spoke up. "I don't think they can help me that much. The truth is, I have a personal goal I want to achieve on my own." He replied. Asuna just gave him a confused look, not really understanding what he meant. _"Personal goal? What could be more important than getting out of this death game?" _She thought.

"So, is this goodbye?" The light-brown haired girl asked.

"Hmm. Let's make tomorrow's boss raid our last fight together as a party." Hiro suggested to which Asuna complied.

* * *

**CONGRATULATIONS!**

The players cheered and congratulated each other for the victory over the 26th boss as Asuna helped Hiro to his feet. "Nice job. That last attack was something." She complimented him. "Thanks." Hiro replied. "Guess this is it?" She said, knowing full well that they would dissolve the party and bid each other farewell. "Yeah." Hiro opened his menu and disbanded the party.

"Guess I'll see you 'round, Asuna."

"You take care of yourself, and I hope you achieve your goal."

"Don't worry, I will. The next time I'll be seeing you, you'll be wearing those flashy clothes of theirs." He pointed to the members of KoB.

"I guess so." She said cheerfully. After a few moments, Heathcliff made his way through. "Great teamwork from the both of you. I have no doubt in your abilities. So have you made your decision?" He asked Asuna. "Thanks, it was nothing. As a matter of fact, I'll be the only one who's going to join. Right, Hiro?" She turned to look at him but saw that he was already gone. "Is that so. What a shame. I could have made him my vice-commander." Heathcliff said with a sad look. He wasn't the only one, Asuna was also depressed that Hiro left without saying a proper goodbye. She admits that she has gotten used to his company and it wouldn't be the same again.

_"That jerk, suddenly disappearing... Well, I wish you luck..."_

* * *

Several months have passed. The players have reached floor 48, almost halfway until the final floor. Hiro had reached level 67. He would occasionally participate in the front lines due to him concentrating on bigger and more difficult quests. Even though he rarely fought with the clearing team, he always did an excellent job whenever he was around. He even cleared 7 floors on his own and got 9 last hits on bosses since he parted ways with Asuna.

However, Kirito, on the other hand, cleared 9 floors on his own and got 12 last hits on bosses. The other floors were cleared by Heathcliff and his guild. Setting the statistics aside, Kirito and Hiro remained rivals and they showed it through their achievements.

"I wonder where Hiro is this time." Kirito wondered, they were now located in some sub-dungeon.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him." Asuna replied, now wearing her newly customized KoB uniform.

"Last I saw him was after we ascended to floor 48." Agil stated.

"I still can't believe you guys parted ways." Kirito said to Asuna.

"Like I said before, it's his decision, not mine."

"I know. But still. I wish we could talk more, like before."

"Me too."

"What do you mean?" The raven haired boy asked Asuna.

"We haven't had a proper conversation since we disbanded. Actually, We haven't really talked since then." She said with concern.

"Not a single word?" Agil asked. "Yup, not even a single word." She replied. "Same here." Kirito stated. "Is he trying to avoid us? Like every time we defeat the boss, he would just disappear." Asuna said with an irritated tone. "Doesn't he go to meetings?" Agil asked. "Nope, he would just show up in the battlefield right away." Kirito answered. "Why not talk to him during the fight?" The bald man suggested. "You think we have the time to chat while killing monsters?" The boy with black hair replied as Agil shrugged his shoulders.

After their time in the sub-dungeon, the gang decided to end the day and went on their separate ways as well. Asuna went back to KoB headquarters, Agil returned to a shop he was running, and Kirito went to nowhere in particular. The raven haired boy decided to descend to previous floors and meet up with Argo.

He didn't mention this earlier to Asuna and Agil, but he recently experienced a tragedy of a guild a couple of months ago. The annihilation of the Moonlit Black Cats guild. He wants to meet up with Argo and get intel on some item that can revive dead players. He wanted to revive a certain girl named Sachi and ask her what she said before she died. He was so devastated after seeing his comrades die and wanted to atone for his careless and selfish acts.

_"Wait for me... Sachi..."_

* * *

_After a time... Somewhere in a forest, Floor 34..._

Hiro was walking through the forest after completing a quest. It's been a long time since he joined the lead group in clearing floors, he had completely left the front lines and became a no-show for most people. He now carries with him a two-handed curved sword called 'Dual Scimitars' which got as an item reward. "Now this is what I call a weapon." He said to himself, satisfied with the new item. "It's been too long, I wonder how Kirito and the rest are doing. Guess I'll join up with them soon." He opened his menu and was thinking of messaging Kirito. But before he could even message him, he heard a scream deep within the forest and decided to rush in and see what that was about.

As soon as he reached the source of the scream, he saw a group of players wearing hoods surrounding two people, a boy and a girl. He also saw the red cursor of the hooded players. "They're PK's!" Hiro said. He didn't have any intention of interfering but when he saw that things was getting out of hand, his body had an adrenaline rush and dashed in to help the two players from the orange players.

"What's this?!" One of the hooded players exclaimed as Hiro took out his Dual Scimitars and blocked a sword strike that was directed at the two players.

"You've got a death wish, brat?!" Another orange said. "You guys are sure low, picking on people." Hiro responded while smirking.

"Heh, we just wanted their cols and items. But since they wouldn't give them up, we decided to take them by force and kill them."

"Is that so?" The boy replied sarcastically, not intimidated one bit.

"And since you're here and you know our goal, we can't let you live." The hooded player said, readying his sword.

"Bring it on. You two, get outta here." Hiro said to the two players to which they complied. "Thanks you so much!"

"So, playing the hero, huh?" The hooded man in the middle said as they surrounded Hiro and was prepared to attack. They all charged at him at the same time, as Hiro just smirked and leaped into the air to avoid the attacks, he then landed behind the nearest player and gave a quick slash on his back. "He's fast!" The player fell as another one attempted a sword skill but failed when Hiro quickly blocked it away and performed his own sword skill. "I'm level 72 and my current battle speed is much for you to handle. You can try to keep up but I assure you, you won't be able to lay a finger on me."He finished as he continued smirking at them.

The fight went on for a long time as Hiro was already bored from the senseless attempt at hitting him. "I'm getting bored now guys, so I'll finish this now." The hooded players hesitated and continued to charge in recklessly. It still didn't made any difference as Hiro continued to doge and took out a crystal and showed it to them. "You know what this is?" He asked. "It's pretty crystal that I got from a quest I completed a while back. Now, I'm not gonna kill you but the coordinates are already set and I'm sending you bastards to prison where you belong."

"Do it. We don't care, Our leader will just bust us out in no time." One of the orange players said as he charged at Hiro and performed a sword skill he has yet to use.

"You're a persistent pest, aren't you?" Hiro said, getting irritated by their stubbornness.

The player did a multiple-hit combo move over and over as Hiro made an 'X' shape with his Dual Scimitars to block the strikes. "This is seriously getting annoying." He said and noticed the player's image that was striking him turned into the image of Kayaba.

"Kayaba?!" Hiro's eyes widened and raised his swords. The sword of the hooded player flew away due to the blow Hiro gave and as soon as he was unarmed, Hiro dashed straight at him and stabbed both his swords repeatedly into the hooded player's chest. "It's you! I made a promise to get you, Kayaba!" He exclaimed. The other orange players just stood there dumbfounded by the actions of the boy. The hooded player's HP soon reached zero and the image of Kayaba had averted back into the hooded player's image and shattered into a million shards.

Hiro realized that he wasn't stabbing Kayaba this whole time as his eyes widened and he felt remorse on what he had just done. His cursor turned orange and he was now identified as a player killer. "I... I didn't mean to..." He stated as one of the hooded players took out a dagger and stabbed Hiro from behind. The boy turned around with a infuriating look and tried to remove the dagger but noticed that he wasn't able to move. "Haha! Can't move a muscle?! That's because you're now paralyzed, shithead!" The hooded player said as Hiro was shocked to know that he was immobilized. "Should have done this earlier. Now we're gonna slaughter you!" The other hooded player exclaimed.

They all charged in once again and slashed Hiro from head to his lower body. "Where's your speed now, punk?!" One of the hooded players taunted as Hiro's HP dropped to the red zone. _"Is this it? Is this how I'm gonna die?" _The boy thought to himself. _"No... I'm not gonna die like this..." _ As soon as all the hooded players were about to give their final blow, a voice of a female was heard and all the players suddenly stopped. "That's enough!" A figure also in a hood appeared before them. "It's the vice-captain!" Everyone turned to the hooded figure who was walking towards them. Hiro could only get a glimpse of the girl as he fell unconscious.

"It's him." The vice-captain said. "Who's this piece of trash?!" One of the red players asked. "Don't you know who this is? This boy is one of the top clearers." The vice-captain replied. "A clearer, huh? Then we should get rid of him!" Another player says. "No." The captain simply stated. "What?! But he killed one of our men! He should pay with his life!" One of the hooded player retorted. "Bring him to the hideout. I think PoH would be very much interested with him." The vice-captain says as the others followed and did what the girl said.

* * *

When Hiro opened his eyes and regained consciousness, he was surprised to see himself in a room. "Am I dead?" He asked himself. "No, you're not." A female voice from before was heard across the room. "Who're you?" He asked the girl who sitting. "I see you're okay. I'm Sandra, and I'm the vice-captain of this guild." The girl, now known as Sandra replied. "I see, so I survived." He stated. "You're lucky I arrived in time to stop my men from finishing you off." She stated. "So those goons were with you." He said and the girl nodded.

"Thanks, but I gotta go now." Hiro stood up and began walking only to be stopped by Sandra. "Woah, hold on there. Where do you think you're going?" She grabbed his arm. "You're not going anywhere yet. The guild leader has yet to meet you." Hiro raised an eyebrow at her statement as a man entered the room. "Sandra, you can bring the kid to the boss now."

"Okay, got it, Marco."

She took him to another room across the hall as a man was waiting for them. "Greetings, kid. I'm PoH, and I run this guild. The Laughing Coffin." The man known as PoH introduced. _"So this is the guild leader." _Hiro thought. "You have to forgive my men. They tend to get a little exaggerated when they have fun." PoH said as he and Sandra laughed. Hiro just glared at the man.

"Why are you keeping me here?" He asked with a serious tone. "Why, you ask? Well, It's simply because I want you to join us. And we have no intention of letting you go unless you join us." The man stated. "So you're keeping me hostage?" Hiro asked as he was about to unsheathe his Dual Scimitars but realized that it was missing. "Looking for these? Sorry, but we took the liberty on confiscating all your items. So don't bother." The man showed the boy his items on the table. "B-But how?!" Hiro exclaimed. "You're gonna pay for this." He said in an angered tone.

"We don't need to indulge ourselves in violence. I only desire a peaceful way of negotiating this situation." PoH stated. "Sorry, but the answer's no. Many already tried to get me into their guild, I turned them all down. So now I'll do the same to yours." Hiro said plainly. "I see. But your a red player now, kid. And this guild isn't just an ordinary guild." The man pointed out as Hiro's face gave an irritated look at knowing that he was a red player.

"Face it, kid. You're one of us now. A red player. There's nowhere else to go. Other players with green cursors won't accept you anymore. You should join us."

"What makes your guild any different from the rest? Sure, your red guild but what do I get if I joined your guild?" The boy stated as his hair covered his eyes. "It won't make any differences. I can still go on. It's not like I need people to accept me. Being red for a while won't stop me from achieving my goal." He added.

"I see. If that's the case, then I challenge you to a duel. If you can beat me. Then I'll let you go free. But if you lose, you're gonna join this guild and follow our regulations." PoH stated and handed Hiro his Dual Scimitars and both prepared for battle. "I have to warn you. We're not in a safe zone." The man said as Hiro smirked. "Even better, I could just kill you without any system to stop me."

"You're pretty arrogant, let's see you back that up, right now."

The two began charging into each other as they exchanged blows and blocked every attack the other gave. Hiro activated his sword skill 'Avalanche' and launched his swords straight at PoH in a fast pace. Unfortunately, PoH activated a skill that Hiro never heard off and countered his 'Avalanche' and sent Hiro flying across the room. The duel ended quickly as Hiro laid his back on the ground and PoH pointing his sword at the boy's neck. "You lose, kid." The man declared. "H-How did-" Hiro was cut off.

"You're still weak. I can't believe Eros died in your hands." The man stated as Hiro accepted his defeat. "Your Laughing Coffin's now, kid." Hiro's face was filled with disgust as PoH continued speaking. "You should be honored, kid, I don't usually just recruit any red player. And I know who you're after." This got Hiro's attention and he turned to look at PoH. "You're after the creator of this cursed game, right? My men told me you mentioned Kayaba's name while stabbing Eros. I can help you achieve your goal if you help me create a utopia." With that statement, Hiro felt a strong feeling burn within his chest as he accepted PoH's offer. "That's more like it." The man said with a sly gin as Sandra took out a box from the guild's item storage. It was a stamp tool as she initiated the boy.

And with that, the emblem of the red guild, Laughing Coffin, was embedded on Hiro's right hand.

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**That's that. Please review.**

**Take care.**


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